The accelerating climate crisis is qualitatively transforming the nature of disasters. Traditional hazards such as heatwaves and wildfires are becoming more severe, while emerging risks—including flash droughts and compound disasters—are occurring more frequently. As a result, the existing disaster-response system is reaching its limits. In Korea, average annual losses from natural disasters reached KRW 1.375 trillion over the past five years (2019–2023), a sharp increase from KRW 198 billion in the previous five-year period (2014–2018). The fundamental reason is that the current disaster-management framework relies heavily on historical statistics. This issue brief presents key policy priorities for a shift toward prevention-oriented disaster management, ahead of the forthcoming release of the Fourth National Climate Crisis Response Plan.
Key Trends in Rapidly Changing Disasters
- The pace of climate change in Korea is three times faster than the global average.
- In 2025, record-breaking extreme events occurred, including temperatures exceeding 40°C in July and rainfall of more than 150 mm per hour in September.
- Disasters are evolving through:
(1) intensification of existing hazards,
(2) cascading and interconnected impacts, and
(3) the emergence of new types of disasters.
Three Priority Areas for Systemic Transformation
1) Expand Investment in Prevention
- International evidence shows that USD 1 invested in prevention yields USD 4–15 in avoided damages.
- In Korea, only 5.8% of disaster-management spending is allocated to prevention, while budgets for response and recovery have surged to 39.9%.
- Prevention spending must be reframed as a strategic investment.
2) Establish a Climate-Risk-Based Decision-Making System
- Current institutional frameworks lack mechanisms to link climate risks with budget planning.
- Climate scenarios should be used to quantify hazard levels, exposure, and vulnerability.
- A trigger-based risk management system should be introduced, where design and investment standards automatically tighten when risk thresholds are exceeded.
3) Redesign the Concepts of Disaster and Loss
- Redefine disasters as a function of climate change to move beyond rigid, legacy classifications.
- Expand the definition of loss from direct damages to a total-loss accounting framework that includes social and economic cascading impacts.
Policy Recommendations
Effective climate-crisis response requires:
(1) expanded investment in prevention,
(2) climate-risk-based decision-making, and
(3) redesigned concepts of disaster and loss.
The Fourth National Climate Crisis Response Plan should serve as the starting point for this systemic transition.