[2022 National Audit] Kim Dong-yeon "Cutting local currency, removing even budget items is extremely unusual"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is responding to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 18th.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, raised the possibility of intentional budget cuts after the Yoon Seok-yeol administration completely eliminated the budget for issuing local currency next year, even removing the 'budget item.' He also expressed a negative stance, describing the claim that Onnuri Gift Certificates could replace local currency as 'limited.'

On the 18th, during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government office, Kim responded to a question from Choi Ki-sang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking whether it is common for the Ministry of Economy and Finance to completely cut the local currency budget after the Ministry of the Interior and Safety had already reduced it. Kim answered, "It is a very rare occurrence."

He specifically stated, "They completely removed the budget item itself," adding, "If this item were still in place, the National Assembly could increase the budget during deliberations, but now the process must start again from creating a new budget item, making the situation very difficult."

He continued, "Local currency has been highly satisfactory for revitalizing the local economy, small business owners, self-employed operators, and ordinary citizens alike," emphasizing, "If you visit traditional markets directly, you can clearly see that it is a highly effective project."

Regarding the claim that Onnuri Gift Certificates could replace local currency, Kim pointed out, "Onnuri Gift Certificates have no regional usage restrictions, so there is significant outflow outside the region," and added, "Their effect on revitalizing the local economy is limited, and while local currency has 2.4 million affiliated stores, Onnuri Gift Certificates have only 130,000."

Furthermore, Kim promised, "Since there are difficulties such as a sharp decline in local tax revenue due to acquisition tax, we will make every effort to revive the local currency budget during the National Assembly's review process. If that proves impossible, we will prepare countermeasures at the provincial level."

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