[Reporter’s Notebook] Disaster Relief Funds for All Residents... Is Won Hee-ryong ‘Imitating Lee Jae-myung’?

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Chang-won] Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong announced the second disaster relief fund payment on the 11th, following the first payment in April.

The April disaster relief fund benefited 40% of Jeju residents. It was a method of selecting and supporting those in difficult living conditions. The second disaster relief fund is targeted at all residents. Even those who are relatively well-off will receive the support.

Recently, there are concerns that Governor Won Hee-ryong’s actions might be an attempt to imitate Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, whose popularity is rapidly rising as a ruling party presidential candidate.

Governor Lee Jae-myung’s policies clearly divide opinions. After providing disaster relief funds to all residents, he has recently advocated for a basic income system and basic rental housing. His supporters cheer, but opposition parties including the United Future Party criticize it as typical populist politics.

Welfare is essential for the stable life of the people. However, excessive welfare is problematic.

Welfare budgets have an irreversible nature once given, making it impossible to reduce them later. The rapidly increasing costs will eventually become unmanageable.

Welfare should aim to build a ‘social safety net’ to protect the vulnerable within the scope of the national budget. This ensures that the social safety net can be maintained over time without passing debts to future generations.

Jeju, led by Governor Won, recorded a fiscal deficit of 300 billion won in 2019. Looking at this year’s second supplementary budget for Jeju, local tax revenue decreased by 25 billion won, local allocation tax dropped by 42.8 billion won, resulting in total revenue of only 83.3 billion won. The principle of ‘spending within the budget’ has collapsed.

Nevertheless, Governor Won decided to provide disaster relief funds to all residents. This can only be seen as a move following ‘populism pandering to popularity’ that is neither right nor sustainable.

On April 29, when the government decided to provide disaster relief funds to all citizens, former Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung pointed out on Facebook, “Universal welfare giving money to everyone is populism, unsustainable, and will ultimately impose an enormous burden on future generations.”

Governor Won is one of the presidential candidates of the opposition United Future Party. As a right-wing party, the United Future Party has opposed ‘handout-style universal welfare’ and ‘tax increases’ that raise the burden on the people. Ultimately, Governor Won’s popularity-driven actions do not align with the party’s identity.

Public opinion in Jeju toward Governor Won is not very favorable. Many criticize him for “playing presidential games and neglecting provincial administration due to his presidential bid.”

Governor Won himself was the first to declare his candidacy as a right-wing presidential candidate, but controversies arose starting from the Jeju provincial government he leads.

Immediately after declaring his presidential bid, he appointed a drunk driving offender as the mayor of Seogwipo. Despite criticism that made the saying ‘personnel is everything’ meaningless, he pushed through the appointment.

There is also much talk about the second disaster relief fund, which is paid to all residents. He should also listen to the concerns of his party and some conservatives.

Governor Won was born as the son of a poor farmer in Jeju and is regarded as a self-made figure who climbed the social ladder during the era of rapid compressed growth. He was also highly regarded as a future generation of right-wing conservatives.

The affection of Jeju residents for Governor Won is special. Every step of his journey toward the presidential election is a matter of interest for the people of Jeju.

We hope he becomes the hope of conservatism with clear and unwavering policies, not by imitating someone else.

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