Top 20% Cannot Receive Disaster Relief Funds... Households Earning Over 100 Million Won Also Excluded

Yoon Ho-jung, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the '2021 Second Half Economic Policy Direction Party-Government Consultation' held at the National Assembly on the 25th, and is talking with Park Wan-joo, the chief deputy floor leader, during the meeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The government and the Democratic Party of Korea decided on the 29th that the recipients of the 5th disaster relief fund will be the bottom 80% by income. This is a compromise between the Ministry of Economy and Finance's original proposal of the 'bottom 70% by income' and the ruling party's plan to provide funds to 'all citizens.'

However, since the Democratic Party strongly advocated for universal payments, it is not impossible that the threshold could be raised during future parliamentary discussions.

On the same day, Park Wan-joo, chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, explained at a National Assembly press briefing that the bottom 80% income cutoff is "roughly around 100 million won" based on income. This is interpreted to mean that households with a combined income of about 100 million won will receive the relief fund. Households in the top 20% income bracket are estimated to be about 4.4 million. By reverse calculation, approximately 17 million households will be eligible for the payment.

Regarding the amount per person, Chairman Park said, "There have been speculative reports about whether it will be 300,000 won or 250,000 won, but it falls within that range." He also explained that about 2 million households in the bottom 10% low-income bracket will receive more support than the average.

Although the bottom 80% by income was decided as the payment target, further disputes are expected. This is because there are strong voices within the ruling party advocating for universal payments.

There is also controversy over the process of selecting the bottom 80% by income. When calculated based on health insurance premiums, there are potential issues in the selection criteria, such as differences between workplace subscribers and regional subscribers. Additionally, the exclusion of consumption at places like large supermarkets, department stores, and automobiles from recognized spending is expected to fuel further debate.

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