"Someone Driving a Benz Gets Disaster Relief, But I..." Controversy Over Fairness of Disaster Relief Funds

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Shin-won] "It's so unfair that wealthy people with tens of billions in assets who drive Mercedes and live in jeonse (long-term lease) don't have their assets counted, yet they receive child allowances and disaster relief because they live in Dongtan, Gyeonggi Province. I'm so angry and frustrated that I am disappointed in South Korea. I oppose the differentiated disaster income support."

This is a post recently uploaded on the Blue House's national petition board. The government announced an emergency disaster relief fund in response to the prolonged economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but some argue that the payment criteria lack fairness.

According to the government's announcement, emergency disaster relief funds will be provided to 14 million households in the bottom 70% income bracket. The support amount varies by household size: 400,000 KRW for one person, 600,000 KRW for two people, 800,000 KRW for three people, and 1,000,000 KRW for four or more people. Detailed criteria for selecting eligible households will be provided later.

However, citizens are calculating their eligibility by applying their income to the Household Financial Welfare Survey results. According to the 2018 Household Financial Welfare Survey, households in the bottom 70% income bracket roughly correspond to those within 150% of the median income. Median income is the income of the household exactly in the middle when all households in the country are lined up by income. The 150% of the median income standard set annually by the Central Living Security Committee is, for this year, approximately 2.64 million KRW for a one-person household, 4.49 million KRW for two-person households, 5.81 million KRW for three-person households, and 7.12 million KRW for four-person households.

There is debate as some say that if only income is considered, wealthy asset holders with no income could also be eligible.

The petitioner who posted the petition stated that they are a dual-income household raising a child born in February 2012, saying, "Children under 7 receive both child allowances and disaster relief, but what about elementary, middle, and high school children? Are they not eating, not wearing clothes, or not using anything?" They added, "Some households receive overlapping support, but many households do not receive a single won. Parents in their 30s to 50s raising children over 7 years old are not having an easy time."

They continued, "But in this policy, elementary school students are excluded due to budget shortages, and local governments also exclude them based on income criteria," adding, "I have paid taxes diligently without evasion, but all I got back were six disposable masks from the local government."

They also said, "It's not about being angry over not receiving 100,000 or 200,000 KRW," and "People are fighting and divided over this disaster income payment between dual-income and single-income households, full-time moms and working moms, Gyeonggi Province and other regions. Ordinary lower-middle-class people who are not even middle class just have to work like oxen, look at the ground, and pay taxes."

Finally, they stated, "I oppose differentiated disaster income support," and demanded, "Instead of selective support, please combine all local government budgets and national funds and provide at least 100,000 KRW or even 10,000 KRW to all citizens."

In response to concerns about fairness, the government is expected to set eligibility based on 'recognized income,' which comprehensively considers both income and assets. Recognized income is calculated by adding comprehensive income, including earned income, business income, property income, and other income, to the 'income conversion amount' of major assets such as real estate, jeonse and monthly rent deposits, financial assets, and automobiles.

By adding the income-converted amount of assets to monthly income to calculate recognized income, the government is reportedly considering excluding those who exceed the standard amount from eligibility.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.