Park Jumin: "Disaster Relief Funds Should Be Distributed to All Citizens Before Chuseok"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Park Jumin, a candidate for the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed the position that the second disaster relief fund should be provided to all citizens. Regarding the timing of the payment, he argued that it would be reasonable to distribute it before Chuseok, considering the urgency.

On the 25th, Park released a "Statement on the Second Disaster Relief Fund," stating, "I believe that the payment target should, in principle, be all citizens."

He explained, "According to the '2020 Q2 Household Income and Expenditure Survey' and others, it can be seen that labor and business income in all quintiles have decreased. Therefore, it is clear that those suffering from difficulties due to COVID-19 are not only the lower-income groups. Hence, I think it is reasonable to provide the relief fund to all citizens."

Regarding the timing of the payment, he stated that it is appropriate to distribute it before Chuseok. Park said, "If the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) subsides, although careful decisions are needed as the possibility of re-spread and raising social distancing to level 3 is being considered, the urgency and effectiveness should also be taken into account. Therefore, if the spread of COVID-19 calms down, it would be appropriate to provide the relief fund before Chuseok."

In response to some criticism that the announcement on the disaster relief fund was delayed, Park explained, "I had already expressed the position that the second disaster relief fund was necessary even before the party announced last week that it would consider providing the second disaster relief fund. Therefore, when the party announced that it would consider the payment of the second disaster relief fund, I immediately issued a welcoming message."

Meanwhile, there are differing opinions within the Democratic Party regarding the recipients and timing of the disaster relief fund payment.

Lee Nak-yeon, another candidate for party leader, stated in a statement the previous day, "I believe that differentiated support to help those in difficulty more substantially is appropriate." He added, "This week will be a turning point in deciding whether to raise social distancing to level 3. I hope the discussion on the disaster relief fund will be postponed until after this week to focus on quarantine efforts as much as possible."

On the other hand, Kim Boo-kyum, a former lawmaker and candidate for party leader, appeared on CBS Radio that day and said, "For now, the second round should be paid to all citizens, and instead, high-income earners should be reimbursed through year-end tax adjustments or income reporting."

Although not a candidate for party leadership, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and a prominent presidential candidate, has proposed to the government, "Please support the second disaster relief fund of 300,000 won per person nationwide to overcome the economic crisis."

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