Celebrities donate to help deluge victims

Celebrities, including comedian Yoo Jae-suk and actor Park Seo-joon, are mobilizing to provide disaster assistance, after heavy rain caused significant casualties and damage across Korea.

The torrential rain, which started over the weekend, has triggered landslides in several places and flooded residential areas, mostly in the Seoul metropolitan area and the central region. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters reported 13 people dead, 13 missing and about 2,228 evacuees, as of Tuesday afternoon.

To help those affected by the rain and floods, comedian Yoo donated 100 million won ($83,700) Monday to an emergency relief fund for flood victims. The Korea Disaster Relief Association manages the fund.

According to the association, Yoo has previously stepped forward to help in disaster situations, including the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, the 2017 Pohang earthquake and the 2019 Gangwon Province forest fire.

“Yoo has been making generous donations every time we start a disaster relief campaign,” the association said. “Because many people are suffering from unexpected heavy rain nationwide, we hope Yoo’s donation will start the spread of good deeds.”