Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, local governments across South Korea are pushing to distribute livelihood support grants aimed at easing the financial burden on residents amid soaring oil prices and a prolonged economic slump, while injecting vitality into local economies.

Because these funds are being distributed using local government budgets rather than a nationwide government rollout, differences exist between regions regarding whether grants will be provided and how much will be awarded.

Looking at local governments with specific distribution plans finalized, the areas offering the highest support amounts are Uiryeong-gun in South Gyeongsang Province and Hampyeong-gun in South Jeolla Province, both of which have decided to provide 500,000 won per person.

Hampyeong-gun decided to distribute the support funds in the form of prepaid cards to its roughly 29,000 residents starting on September 7th, securing a budget of 15.11 billion won through a supplementary budget for this purpose.

Uiryeong-gun has also decided to provide a livelihood stability support fund of 500,000 won per resident to all county residents and is currently proceeding with follow-up procedures.

Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, will also begin accepting applications for its Tongyeong-style livelihood recovery support fund of 350,000 won per person starting on the 31st.

Tongyeong initially pushed to pay 330,000 won per person last June, but after the plan fell through amid controversies surrounding the local elections, it prepared the distribution anew under the 9th popular election term, raising the payout amount to 350,000 won per person through consultations with the city council.

Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, has also decided to provide a livelihood support fund of 100,000 won per person before Chuseok.

In Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, 8 out of 27 cities, counties, and districts are reviewing the distribution of livelihood support funds before the Chuseok holiday, with 5 local governments including Hampyeong-gun planning to disburse the funds prior to Chuseok.

Goheung-gun and Jangheung-gun will distribute 300,000 won per resident in local love gift certificates, while Naju plans to provide 200,000 won per person in Naju Love Gift Certificates.

Yeongam-gun will also give 100,000 won per person before Chuseok.

In North Jeolla Province, Buan-gun, Gochang-gun, and Wanju-gun have each decided to pay 300,000 won per resident.

Buan-gun has decided to give all county residents 300,000 won per person in the form of prepaid cards that can only be used within Buan.

Gochang-gun is also granting a county resident vitality support fund of 300,000 won per person ahead of Chuseok, and Wanju-gun will distribute 300,000 won per person to approximately 105,000 residents before the holiday.

In North Gyeongsang Province, Uljin-gun plans to support all county residents with 300,000 won per person using Uljin Love Cards by Chuseok.

The 14.2 billion won required for the support will be covered by increased financial resources secured through additional local allocation taxes and rising local income taxes.

Mungyeong also provides a high-oil-crisis response support fund of 250,000 won per citizen. The support fund is issued as prepaid cards and can be used at small business stores within the region with annual sales of 3 billion won or less until the end of the year.

Gas stations can be used regardless of sales volume, and Mungyeong has decided to inject a total of 16.8 billion won through consultations with the Mungyeong City Council so that the distribution of support funds can begin before Chuseok.

In North Chungcheong Province, Yeongdong-gun is distributing its second livelihood stability support fund of 300,000 won per resident in local gift certificates.

Yeongdong-gun began accepting applications on the 17th and is distributing them sequentially starting September 1st, having previously disbursed the first livelihood stability support fund of 500,000 won per person last January.

In Gangwon Province, Sokcho has been accepting applications for livelihood recovery support funds since July 20th, and nearly 7.8 billion won has been used within three weeks of launching the distribution.

Local governments pushing for distribution emphasize that issuing the funds via regional love gift certificates with restricted usage locations yields a significant effect in boosting sales for local small business owners and traditional markets.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Busan, and Jeju Province were found to have no plans to issue livelihood support funds around the Chuseok period.

On the other hand, there are places where the distribution of support funds hit a roadblock after failing to obtain council consent.

In the case of Gangwon's Gangneung, a plan was pursued to distribute 100,000 won per citizen via Gangneung Pay, but the Gangneung City Livelihood Stability Support Fund Distribution Ordinance bill was voted down on the 31st of last month for both the original and revised versions due to opposition from People Power Party city council members.

Subsequently, voices of criticism emerged from the local community directed at the People Power Party city council members.

In response, People Power Party city council members of Gangneung stated that they judged it their duty to the citizens to vote down an imperfect ordinance bill, criticizing it as haphazard administration that allows massive amounts of taxpayers' money to be executed without clear criteria and procedures.

Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, also pushed to distribute an economic recovery support fund totaling 53.0 billion won, amounting to 300,000 won per citizen, before Chuseok, but failed to cross the threshold of the city council.

The Dangjin City Council put the related ordinance bill to a vote on the 11th, but it was voted down as a tie with all 7 Democratic Party members voting in favor and all 7 People Power Party members voting against.

People Power Party members opposed the move, stating that local economic indicators are not bad enough to warrant distribution to all citizens and that the fiscal burden from injecting the entire 53.0 billion won from municipal funds is heavy.

Conversely, Democratic Party members protested, calling it an unjustified obstruction of municipal administration, noting that it was a pledge also put forward by the People Power Party candidate during the local elections.

There are also places that reviewed the distribution of livelihood support funds but delayed the timing as the compilation of related budgets was delayed or entered re-examination.

Jangseong-gun, South Jeolla Province, stated it would pay 600,000 won to all county residents but has not yet set the distribution timing, reviewing a plan to stagger payments over two years starting in 2028.

Muan-gun also intended to distribute 100,000 won per person, but because the related ordinance has not been enacted, its policy is to enact a separate ordinance and distribute it around the end of this year.

Gwangyang, which pledged 300,000 won per person, has entered expenditure restructuring, establishing a policy to re-examine the project's viability and execute it step-by-step.

Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, has also begun reviewing the distribution of livelihood support funds, but given that Changwon's population reaches 1 million, forecasts suggest it will take some time before the question of distribution, target recipients, and financial scale are finalized.

Furthermore, controversies over equity between regions have arisen as distribution decisions differ by basic administrative units even within the same metropolitan cities, prompting complaints such as why only their area lacks support.

A local political insider emphasized that while livelihood support funds can play a certain role in vitalizing the local economy, because they are short-term prescriptions, distributions must be decided only after examining fiscal soundness and policy effectiveness to determine if they are truly necessary.

(Photo: Yonhap News)