Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Provided to 14.78 Million Households... Excluding Homes Over 1.5 Billion KRW

Government Prepares 7.6 Trillion Won 2nd Supplementary Budget Without Issuing National Bonds

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] The government has prepared the 2nd supplementary budget (supplementary budget) worth 7.6 trillion won through full expenditure adjustments to provide emergency disaster relief funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The payment targets are 14.78 million households in the bottom 70% income bracket, excluding high-asset individuals whose combined property tax base exceeds 900 million won (officially assessed price 1.5 billion won) or whose comprehensive income tax taxable financial income exceeds 20 million won.

On the 16th, the government held an extraordinary cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Sejong, presided over by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, and resolved the 2nd supplementary budget plan containing these details, planning to submit it to the National Assembly.

A total of 9.7 trillion won will be required for the emergency disaster relief fund payments, with the national government and local governments sharing the cost at a ratio of 8:2 (7:3 in Seoul).

Funding will be secured entirely through adjustments to the existing budget for the national government's share. This includes 6.4 trillion won from expenditure adjustment resources (3.6 trillion won cut from expenditure projects, 2.8 trillion won reduction in foreign exchange fund expenditures of public funds, etc.) and 1.2 trillion won from early repayment of funds and additional deposits.

The support target is set at 14.78 million households in the bottom 70% income bracket, excluding high-asset individuals with a combined property tax base exceeding 900 million won (officially assessed price about 1.5 billion won) or annual financial income over 20 million won (holding about 1.25 billion won in deposits).

Eligibility can be confirmed based on health insurance premiums as of the end of March.

The support amount varies by household size, with up to 1 million won paid to households of four or more members. Payments will be made using electronic money, local gift certificates, etc., currently used by local governments.

Meanwhile, there is a possibility that the payment target for disaster relief funds may be expanded to the entire population during the National Assembly negotiation process, as both ruling and opposition parties promised this during the 21st general election.

Regarding this, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hong Nam-ki emphasized, "The support criterion of the bottom 70% income bracket was decided after extensive discussions considering speed, fairness, and fiscal capacity," adding, "It is necessary to preserve fiscal capacity to overcome economic damage."

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