Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Wednesday instructed the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to consider declaring Gyeonggi Province and both Chungcheong provinces special disaster zones as quickly as possible.

At a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in Seoul, Chung expressed regret over the loss of life during recent days due to the heavy rain.

To be declared a special disaster zone, the mayor or governor of a city or province should first make the request. If the Interior Ministry -- through the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters -- judges the request to be justified, it is then screened and sent to the prime minister, who approves it and sends it to the president for final approval.

The government is considering a plan that would screen requests as quickly as possible to declare the disaster zones by Thursday at the earliest.

Chung called on officials to come up with measures to quickly restore affected areas once the rain stops and to prepare more fundamental policies that take into account the changing climate, asking them to do their best to prevent further losses during the rainy season.