The city of Dangjin in South Chungcheong Province is reviving a plan to give every resident 300,000 won, a program that was blocked once before. The city plans to secure about 53 billion won ($38 million) to pay 300,000 won per person before the Lunar New Year holiday next year.
The Dangjin City Council passed an ordinance on economic recovery payments submitted by the city at a plenary session of its 131st extraordinary session on the 23rd, according to the city and the council on the 26th.
Of the 13 council members who took part in the vote, 12 voted in favor and one abstained. One of the 14 sitting members did not participate in the vote.
Dangjin had earlier pushed for the same payments ahead of the Chuseok holiday, but the plan collapsed amid opposition from the council. At an extraordinary session in August, the vote split evenly at seven in favor and seven against. Failing to win a majority, the ordinance was rejected.
This time, however, five of the seven People Power Party council members who had voted against the measure switched to support, allowing the ordinance to pass.
The 300,000-won payment to all residents was one of the pledges Mayor Kim Ki-jae made in the June 3 local elections.
After the earlier rejection, Dangjin resubmitted the ordinance with revised conditions and procedures for the payments. The new ordinance states that payments can be made when an economic downturn and rising prices strain household finances, or when worsening employment conditions and rising unemployment increase the burden on residents.
Disasters and the closure or relocation of large companies that significantly affect the local economy were also included among the conditions for payment.
Safeguards were also put in place to improve transparency in budget execution. The mayor must draw up a payment plan that includes the grounds for determining an economic crisis and the calculation of the payment amounts.
Within six months after the period for using the payments ends, the city must submit a report analyzing the policy's effects to the council and make it public.
With the ordinance clearing the council, Dangjin plans to begin securing funds with the aim of making the payments before the Lunar New Year holiday next year. The city intends to allocate about 53 billion won in its main budget for next year.
The payments would cover about 174,000 people, including residents registered in Dangjin as well as marriage immigrants and permanent residents who meet certain requirements.
The city is pursuing a plan to pay 300,000 won per person in local currency vouchers. Under the plan, a four-person household would receive a total of 1.2 million won. Dangjin's population stood at 172,587 as of September.
The 53 billion won earmarked for the program equals about 65.6% of the city's annual culture and tourism budget of 80.8 billion won. Passage of the ordinance does not mean the payments are confirmed, however. The size and timing could still change depending on the council's budget review.
Uiryeong Pays 500,000 Won, Wanju 300,000 Won as Handouts Spread
Beyond Dangjin, local governments across the country have been moving to give residents livelihood support payments.
Uiryeong County in South Gyeongsang Province paid 500,000 won per person to all residents in August. Wanju County in Jeonbuk State also provided 300,000 won per person in livelihood stabilization payments to about 100,000 residents last month.
Local governments with limited fiscal capacity have also begun making payments. Goheung County in South Jeolla Province, Gochang and Buan counties in Jeonbuk State and Hadong County in South Gyeongsang Province — all with financial independence ratios in the single digits — paid 300,000 won per person to residents ahead of Chuseok.
Buan County, in particular, is reportedly pushing to sell county-owned land worth tens of billions of won to fund the payments.