Democratic Party Pushes to Increase “Recovery Consumption Coupons” for Non-Metropolitan and Rural Areas in Korea’s Second Supplementary Budget
Democratic Party Pushes to Increase “Recovery Consumption Coupons” for Non-Metropolitan and Rural Areas in Korea’s Second Supplementary Budget
On June 30, South Korea’s Democratic Party announced plans to increase financial support for residents in non-metropolitan and rural population-declining areas as part of the review process for the 2024 second supplementary budget (추가경정예산, or “Chugyung”).
In an official press release, the party’s Policy Committee stated:
“We will push for an increase in recovery consumption coupon support—an additional ₩30,000 per person for non-metropolitan residents and ₩50,000 for those living in rural, depopulated areas.”
The rationale, the statement explained, is that regional economies outside Seoul and the capital area are facing greater financial hardship and deserve stronger government attention and supportThe “Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon” program is a government initiative to stimulate the domestic economy by providing financial coupons worth ₩150,000 to ₩500,000 per person.
Most citizens are set to receive ₩250,000 each.
The top 10% income earners will receive a smaller amount of ₩150,000.
Vulnerable groups, such as low-income households and single parents, will receive ₩400,000 or ₩500,000.
In the government’s original proposal, rural residents would receive an additional ₩20,000 on top of the standard amount. However, the Democratic Party now plans to expand both the amount and the eligible groups.
If approved, individuals in non-metropolitan areas could receive ₩180,000 to ₩530,000, and those in rural population-declining areas could receive ₩200,000 to ₩550,000 per person.
Reducing Local Government Burden
The Democratic Party also emphasized the need to ease financial pressure on local governments, which are expected to co-fund the program at a matching rate of 20–30%.
“Due to astronomical tax revenue shortfalls over the past two years and continued economic stagnation, the financial health of local governments has severely deteriorated,” the party stated. “The matching burden should be reduced.”
National Assembly Approves Supplementary Budget for “Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupons”
The National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee (행정안전위원회) has passed a supplementary budget bill totaling ₩13.2 trillion to fund the “Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon” program, with bipartisan agreement.
Key Budget Allocation: Central Government to Cover 100% of Costs
Originally, the budget proposal required the central government to contribute ₩10.3 trillion and local governments ₩2.9 trillion. However, the committee deleted the clause requiring local government contributions, ensuring that the central government will fully fund the program.
Some lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties had previously raised concerns that financially strained local governments could not shoulder the additional burden. They called for 100% central government funding of the coupons.
No comments:
Post a Comment