South Gyeongsang Local Governments Split Over Same Livelihood Support Payments
They are the same livelihood support payments, yet South Gyeongsang Province's local governments are divided over whether to hand them out — and how much. The grants are meant to rescue small business owners and neighborhood shopping districts struggling under the economic downturn and high inflation, but differences in each locality's fiscal situation and policy direction have produced split decisions, it was confirmed on the 12th.
Heads of the ninth locally elected governments, which took office through the 2022 local elections, have rolled out such support one after another; the four localities moving ahead with payments are Uiryeong County, Tongyeong, Hadong County and Gimhae. Uiryeong County has been giving each resident Uiryeong Love gift certificates worth 500,000 won since the 10th of last month, while Tongyeong is taking applications for its “Tongyeong-style livelihood recovery support payment” of 350,000 won per person. Hadong County is distributing local currency — money that can be spent only at shops in the area — worth 300,000 won per resident. In Gimhae, all 537,000-plus citizens are eligible: the city has set aside 54.4 billion won for payments of 100,000 won per person, with applications opening on the 17th.
Changwon reviewed paying the grants to ease the burden of high inflation but, after a comprehensive review of payment methods and budget size, put the plan on hold on the 27th of last month and decided to concentrate available funds on investment in future growth engines. Sacheon likewise concluded that its limited local finances should go first to mid- to long-term regional infrastructure, such as attracting companies, creating jobs and expanding transportation and housing foundations. In Yangsan, a livelihood support ordinance initiated directly by residents has failed to clear the city council's standing committee.
In the Gimhae City Council, questions have been raised over whether committing a 54.5 billion won budget is appropriate when outstanding local bonds stand at 179.7 billion won. Ahead of the Chuseok holiday, debate over the livelihood support payments continues. The biggest advantage of payments issued in local currency is their short-term boost to consumption. But with such massive budgets involved, concerns are growing that investment in essential public infrastructure — roads, welfare and industry — could shrink. The grants have also been denounced as “populist cash spraying” that undermines fiscal soundness.
Min Byung-ik, a professor of public administration at Gyeongsang National University, analyzed: “If a local government judged economic stimulus to be more urgent, as a catalyst to keep self-employed businesses from being driven out of the market, it would be hard to declare the allocation outright wrong. Unlike investment in public goods, cash handouts carry strong political incentives — the giver gains votes while recipients feel the benefit keenly — but from a public finance standpoint, their long-term policy effect is not substantial.”
