Lee Jae-myung: "'Disaster Relief Fund' and 'Disaster Income' Differ Significantly from Their Intended Purposes"

On March 11, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, held an emergency briefing on COVID-19 prevention and religious facility gatherings at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government briefing room. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, expressed his opinion on the term used to refer to the money given to the public to overcome the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disaster. He explained, "There is a significant difference in the subject and content orientation between the two words, disaster relief funds and disaster income."

On the 26th, Governor Lee opened his Facebook post by stating, "Humans are social animals, and language, as a means of communication, contains meanings beyond mere expression."

He added, "There is a debate over whether the money (local currency) given to the public to overcome the COVID-19 disaster should be called disaster income or disaster relief."

Continuing, Governor Lee interpreted, "The subject of support is the government, and the subject of income is the people. Support carries a strong meaning of charity or welfare, whereas income contains the meaning of dignity and rights."

He further argued, "Welfare is not charity or benevolence to help the poor, but a constitutional duty of the state and a right of the people to ensure a dignified life for sovereign citizens."

In the following text, he stated, "Therefore, when all citizens face a crisis, it is the government's duty and the people's rightful claim to use government resources and authority to support the collapsing lives of the people, revive the stagnant economy, and eliminate future anxieties."

Governor Lee declared, "Fiscal expenditure for this purpose is income that the people, as the subject, can rightfully demand with dignity."

He emphasized, "Just as it does not matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice well, regardless of the name, fiscal policies for disaster recovery and economic revitalization require swift and actual implementation above all."

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