Jeongeup-si Decides to Provide Disaster Basic Income to All Citizens

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jae-gil] Jeongeup City, Jeonbuk Province, will provide disaster basic income support of 100,000 KRW per person to all citizens in relation to the COVID-19 situation.

On the 28th, Mayor Yoo Jin-seop and Jeongeup City Council Chairman Choi Nak-sam held a press conference at the Jeongeup City Hall briefing room and announced the plan to provide Jeongeup City disaster basic income.

Mayor Yoo and Chairman Choi stated that they will promptly support disaster basic income to all citizens experiencing economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic to stabilize livelihoods and revitalize the depressed local economy.

The disaster basic income support provided by the city will be given to all citizens regardless of overlap with the emergency disaster relief funds provided by the government.

As of the 29th of last month, 53,765 households and 110,666 people residing in Jeongeup City are eligible, requiring a budget of approximately 11.1 billion KRW.

The city will provide the support in the form of prepaid cards to encourage rapid consumption activities.

The issued prepaid cards will be set for temporary use only within the region until July 31 to help the local commercial district.

Mayor Yoo said, “As COVID-19 prolongs, providing disaster basic income to citizens who have difficulty making a living will help stabilize their lives and also contribute to revitalizing the depressed local economy through consumption activities.”

The city has been receiving high marks for implementing various policies besides disaster relief funds to stabilize citizens’ lives and revitalize the local economy amid the COVID-19 situation.

As a livelihood support project for low-income groups, the city provided 520,000 KRW per single-person household to basic livelihood security recipients in the region and 400,000 KRW per person to the near-poverty class, issuing prepaid cards usable locally for four months to support the livelihood stability of a total of 8,961 households.

Additionally, to assist child-rearing, the city allocated a budget of 1.659 billion KRW to provide 400,000 KRW per child under the age of seven.

The city also supports living expenses for those hospitalized or quarantined due to COVID-19.

Those quarantined for more than 14 days receive a one-time living support payment for one month, with amounts ranging from 454,900 KRW per person up to a maximum of 1,457,500 KRW for five people.

As a measure to revitalize the local economy, the city allocated a total budget of 2.247 billion KRW to support small business owners with public utility charges (electricity, water, etc.), providing 600,000 KRW per business site.

Along with this, the city paid a total of 1.25 billion KRW in insurance premiums to 194 small business owners with fewer than 10 employees in the region through the small business social insurance support project.

The city is also promoting the ‘Regional Employment Response Special Support Project,’ investing a total of 484 million KRW to support 301 special-type workers and freelancers with 500,000 KRW per month for up to two months.

Furthermore, the city expects that expanding the discount rate of the Jeongeup Love Gift Certificate to 10% will relieve the economic burden on citizens and also provide relief to small business owners and self-employed individuals.

Mayor Yoo Jin-seop said, “Jeongeup City is a clean area with no confirmed COVID-19 cases, thanks to the joint efforts of all citizens and public officials in blocking social transmission and focusing on quarantine activities,” adding, “We will seek various support measures to wisely cope with this national crisis.”

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