Yeosu Mayor Kwon Oh-bong Changes Excuse for Not Providing Disaster Relief Funds to Timing of Payment

The Excuse of Not Giving Disaster Relief Funds Due to Lack of Money Has Lost Its Justification
The City Council is a Deliberation and Resolution Body, Budget Formation Authority Belongs to the City Executive
Yeosu City's Pocket Holds 90.2 Billion Wo

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Since the beginning of this year, Kwon Oh-bong, mayor of Yeosu City, has consistently maintained a ‘not possible’ policy toward civic groups and the Yeosu City Council demanding disaster relief funds, repeatedly using the excuse of ‘no money’ as the reason for not providing disaster relief funds.

In May, Yeosu City, which held a ‘Discussion on the Provision of Basic Disaster Income,’ reaffirmed that disaster relief payments are impossible, citing a very difficult budget situation for next year, with revenue projections down by about 128 billion KRW compared to this year, and a decrease in local income tax due to sluggish sales in the Yeosu Industrial Complex.

In June, during a regular session of the Yeosu City Council, Mayor Kwon Oh-bong responded to council member Moon Gap-tae’s question about disaster relief payments by saying, “There is no financial capacity,” adding, “We cannot issue debt (local bonds) to provide funds, nor can we reduce this year’s expenditure budget, so in fact, there is very little money to spend.”

Various media outlets have mocked Yeosu City’s administration for Mayor Kwon’s stance with headlines such as “Yeosu City can’t provide disaster relief funds because it wants to build an annex to City Hall,” “Yeosu City says it can’t provide disaster relief funds despite citizens’ demands,” and “Yeosu City, the richest city in Honam, says it can’t provide disaster relief funds.”

On the 19th of last month, when a Yeosu civic group criticized the city by saying, “You said you can’t provide disaster relief funds because there’s no money, but there is 87 billion KRW in the treasury,” various media outlets reported on this.

In response, Yeosu City issued a statement explaining that “the amount the mayor can use at his discretion is not available, and if necessary, it can be used through budget allocation by the City Council,” adding, “The city’s budget must be allocated and used in any case, prioritizing places for the citizens.”

This has led to some criticism directed at Mayor Kwon Oh-bong.

Although it is said that the mayor cannot use the funds at his discretion, the Yeosu City Council, civic groups, and many citizens are demanding disaster relief funds from Yeosu City, leading to criticism that Mayor Kwon is deliberately withholding the funds.

On the 2nd, Mayor Kwon said he would prioritize spending for the citizens but also stated that it is not yet a time when disaster relief payments are necessary.

The phrase “an amount that can be used through budget allocation by the City Council if necessary” is also criticized as inconsistent because the City Council does not have the authority to allocate the budget.

Budget allocation is the responsibility of the Yeosu City executive branch, while the Yeosu City Council is the body that reviews and approves the budget.

“Budget allocation lies with Mayor Kwon Oh-bong and the executive branch,” said Council Member A. “They have to submit the budget first, then the City Council can approve it or not.”

Yeosu City also stated that “if basic disaster income is paid to all citizens, national and provincial matching projects and various long-awaited projects desired by citizens will not be able to be invested in the first supplementary budget,” and that the deposit in the integrated account “pays 2% interest, must be used with principal repayment obligations.”

This explanation from Yeosu City is also considered insufficient.

Yeosu City has secured 87.2 billion KRW each in the integrated account and stabilization account as part of the Integrated Financial Stabilization Fund, and it is reported that 90.2 billion KRW will be prepared through next year’s main budget.

Accordingly, even if disaster relief funds costing 28 billion KRW are paid to all citizens, it is said that there will be no significant disruption to the national and provincial matching projects and various long-awaited projects desired by citizens that Yeosu City is concerned about.

Furthermore, the issue of paying 2% interest is not considered a major obstacle.

It is interpreted that if the Yeosu City Integrated Financial Stabilization Fund is money in the right pocket, then the interest paid from the Yeosu City budget, which is the left pocket, goes back into the right pocket, and since both pockets belong to Yeosu City, there is no big problem.

Mayor Kwon Oh-bong, who said “there is no money to provide disaster relief funds,” removed the phrase “there is no money” regarding COVID-19 disaster relief payments during a briefing on the 2nd, after being criticized by civic groups and the media for having “87 billion KRW.”

At the briefing, Mayor Kwon said, “At present, it is judged that there is not a great need to provide disaster relief funds to all citizens,” adding, “If the spread of COVID-19 continues until the first half of next year when investment in the industrial complex ends, and if there is no additional support from the government or metropolitan area, the city will promote its own disaster relief payments.”

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