Gwangyang City to Provide 200,000 Won Emergency Disaster Living Expenses to All Citizens

All Gwangyang City Residents Registered Before Midnight on the 2nd Are Eligible

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, announced on the 2nd that it will provide the ‘Gwangyang City Emergency Disaster Living Expenses’ to overcome the economic downturn caused by the recent COVID-19 crisis and support the stability of citizens' lives.

To provide support without blind spots and stimulate the economy through consumption promotion, it was decided to pay 200,000 KRW per person to all citizens regardless of income or age.

Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok of Gwangyang City announced the plan to provide the ‘Gwangyang City Emergency Disaster Living Expenses’ during a briefing.

The city, in consultation with the Gwangyang City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and the Gwangyang City Council, decided to support a total of 30.4 billion KRW in emergency disaster living expenses to quickly revive the stagnant local economy.

Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok said, “We have been reviewing various measures to support citizens who have faced difficulties in their livelihoods since the outbreak of COVID-19. Although we discussed selectively supporting small business owners and vulnerable groups who were directly affected, considering the unprecedented crisis situation where no citizen is unaffected and that the central government and Jeollanam-do provide separate support for low-income and vulnerable groups, we decided to provide the funds to all citizens.”

The city’s emergency disaster living expenses will be paid at 200,000 KRW per person to all residents registered in Gwangyang City as of 0:00 AM on the 2nd, regardless of income, age, or duplicate receipt status.

The funds will be provided via the Gwangyang Love Gift Certificate Card, which can only be used in Gwangyang City to support local small business owners and economic revitalization. It can be used like cash at local stores, excluding large supermarkets, large-scale sales outlets, and entertainment or gambling establishments.

The payment procedure is simplified as much as possible, allowing applicants to visit the eup/myeon/dong community centers or designated locations, verify their identity, and receive the funds immediately upon application.

Household heads or household members can apply and receive the funds on behalf of other household members in a batch.

To prepare for a large number of applicants in a short period, mobile civil service desks will be operated at village halls and apartment management offices in densely populated areas such as Gwangyang-eup, Jungma-dong, Gwangyeong-dong, and Geumho-dong. In other myeon and dong areas, distribution dates will be designated by tong-ri (villages), and distribution will be carried out at eup/myeon/dong community centers.

The city plans to begin full-scale application acceptance from the 22nd after the supplementary budget and ordinance approval procedures at the Gwangyang City Council’s extraordinary session scheduled for early April.

In this briefing, a support plan to revitalize the local economy, including small business owners, was also announced separately from the emergency disaster living expenses.

To stabilize management and minimize damage for small business owners, the city has implemented ▲interest subsidies on loans from financial institutions for small business owners (1,500 businesses, 1.71 billion KRW) ▲facility improvement projects (70 businesses, 300 million KRW) ▲50% reduction in usage fees for 305 stores in five public markets, and plans to provide ▲public utility fee support for 6,400 small businesses (1.92 billion KRW) ▲loan guarantee fee support for 1,500 small businesses (720 million KRW) ▲500,000 KRW per taxi driver for livelihood stabilization (490 people, 245 million KRW) ▲50% reduction in water and sewage fees for household, general, and industrial use (18,507 locations, billed for April-May, 1.73 billion KRW).

Mayor Jeong Hyun-bok said, “I hope that the emergency disaster living expenses and small business support policies will provide comfort to citizens who are going through difficult days due to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis and serve as a catalyst for the recovery of the local economy.”

Meanwhile, the briefing was conducted non-face-to-face to practice social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and can be viewed on the Gwangyang City website, Facebook, KakaoStory, and other platforms.

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