Gyeong-su Kim, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, "Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Should Be Provided to All Citizens"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kang Sharon] Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, expressed the view that since it is difficult to select the bottom 70% income group, emergency disaster relief funds should first be given to all citizens, and high-income earners should be reclaimed through taxes.

On the 22nd, Governor Kim wrote on his Facebook, "The health insurance premium, which serves as the standard for distributing emergency disaster relief funds, is calculated by converting comprehensive income tax and owned assets into premiums, so it differs from the period affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic," adding, "Since the health insurance premium is based on last year's comprehensive income tax, it ultimately uses 2018 income as the standard."

He explained, "Support should be provided to self-employed and small business owners who have suffered significant damage from COVID-19, but the emergency disaster relief funds are being distributed based on income from two years ago," and "Self-employed and small business owners who were affected by COVID-19 but excluded from the emergency disaster relief funds inevitably have to submit separate documents proving income and sales decline to apply."

He also added, "In our country, income growth trends are gradual up to the bottom 90%, but income sharply increases near the 90% point."

Governor Kim pointed out, "If a dual-income couple works hard and surpasses the bottom 70% income threshold, they are not eligible for the relief funds, but there are unreasonable cases where a single-income couple with inherited assets from their parents qualifies for the funds."

Considering all these circumstances, Governor Kim said, "Emergency disaster relief funds should be distributed to all citizens first, and for high-income earners, an appropriate level of reclamation should be made afterward based on the tax base."

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