Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok Proposes Nationwide Distribution of 5th Disaster Relief Fund

Democratic Party Leadership and Provincial Governors Meeting to Discuss 'Measures to Revitalize the People's Economy'

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, attended a meeting between the Democratic Party leadership and Democratic Party-affiliated city and provincial governors held at the National Assembly on the 10th to discuss measures to revitalize the livelihood economy.

According to the province, the meeting was attended by party leaders including Song Young-gil, Democratic Party leader, Park Wan-joo, chairman of the Policy Committee, Yoon Kwan-seok, secretary-general, and city and provincial governors affiliated with the party.

Governor Kim said, "The 5th disaster relief fund should be provided to all citizens," adding, "During the distribution of the 2nd to 4th disaster relief funds, some cities, counties, and districts independently provided universal payments, which caused a significant sense of relative deprivation among residents in areas that did not receive payments."

He continued, "Considering the poor local finances, the fund should be fully supported by the national government and paid in local currency to promote a virtuous cycle in the regional economy," emphasizing this point.

He stressed that in the situation where the financial gap between cities and provinces is widening after COVID-19, the importance of local fiscal decentralization is increasing more than ever.

Governor Kim stated, "Although the principle of 'ensuring that local finances are not disadvantaged compared to the current system' was announced at the joint meeting on fiscal decentralization promotion by related ministries in 2018, during the first fiscal decentralization, the Balanced National Development Special Account (Gyuntuk) projects were transferred to local governments with only a three-year temporary compensation," adding, "Jeonnam currently faces a financial loss of 400 billion won per year if the three-year compensation for Gyuntuk is discontinued."

Furthermore, he strongly requested, "Along with discussions on the second fiscal decentralization, please also consider measures to compensate the Gyuntuk funds, which were problematic in the first fiscal decentralization, for at least five years."

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