Sang-min Lee, Minister of the Interior and Safety: "Local Currency Budget Cuts, the Long-Term Way Forward"

NP "Should Have Taken a Gradual Reduction and Public Persuasion Approach"
DP "2,700 Cases of Local Currency Illegal Circulation... Giving Cash Is More Effective"

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is delivering an opening statement at the National Assembly's audit of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held on the 4th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), commented on the complete budget cut for the local love gift certificate project, formerly known as local currency, saying, "It is undoubtedly the direction we should move toward in the long term."

At the MOIS audit held at the National Assembly on the 4th, Minister Lee was asked whether he would request an increase during the National Assembly's budget review process regarding the complete cut of the 470 billion KRW local currency budget requested by MOIS in next year's government budget proposal. He replied, "I can only speak in principle. We need to consider how to handle the transition period."

When preparing the 2023 national budget, the government completely cut the local currency budget, which was 605.2 billion KRW this year. Local governments that had been promoting local currency are expected to inevitably reduce the scale of the project.

Cheon Jun-ho, a member of the opposition Democratic Party, criticized, "It is very inappropriate to completely cut the local currency budget, which has a significant effect on supporting small business owners and self-employed people," adding, "It should have been a gradual reduction with efforts to persuade the public."

On the ruling party side, Jo Eun-hee, a member of the People Power Party, countered, "There have been 2,700 cases of fraudulent distribution of local currency, such as 'gift certificate discount sales,'" and said, "Cutting the related budget and distributing cash where needed would be more effective."

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