"I’m a Seonggol? I Wish They Just Gave Me Money"… Public Support Fund 'Social Class Chart' Satire Sparks Buzz

On the afternoon of the 5th, a promotional sign indicating the use of the National Support Fund is attached at a convenience store in downtown Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Since the 6th, the application results for the 'COVID-19 Coexistence National Support Fund' have sparked a buzz in online communities with a satirical so-called 'Disaster Relief Fund Social Class Chart.'

On the 9th, a post titled 'Disaster Relief Fund Tier Chart' was uploaded on an online community. The author of the post divided the recipients and non-recipients of this disaster relief fund into five classes: Seonggol, Jingol, 6Dugup~4Dugup, commoners, and slaves.

Photo by Online Community Capture

Among those who did not receive the disaster relief fund, ▲ those exceeding the property tax base were labeled Seonggol (top 3%), ▲ those exceeding the financial income criteria were called Jingol (top 7%), and ▲ those exceeding the insurance premium criteria were referred to as 6Dugup~4Dugup (top 12%).

On the other hand, those who received the disaster relief fund were classified as commoners (top 90%) and slaves (top 100%).

Netizens' reactions to this were mixed. One netizen said, "I received the disaster relief fund, but I don't know if I should be happy because I'm a commoner," while others responded, "I became Seonggol because my family was included. I'm a slave!", and "Forget pride, I just want the money."

Meanwhile, this national support fund has sparked fairness controversies as the government decided to exclude the top 12% from the payment target.

In fact, since the selection criterion is the 'health insurance premium payment amount,' situations have occurred where dual-income couples with no property but a certain level of earned income could not receive support, while wealthy individuals benefited. Also, because the payment criteria vary by household size, cases occurred where workers at the same workplace with lower monthly salaries did not receive support.

As the controversy continued, Park Wan-joo, the Policy Committee Chair of the Democratic Party, stated on the 7th, "We are well aware that many complaints are inevitable, so the party and government are reviewing ways to provide relief through appeals," leaving the possibility of appeals widely open.

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