"Annual Overseas Trips for 90 Seniors"...Local Governments' 'Populism' Controversy

Chungnam Seocheon-gun Elderly Welfare Ordinance Amendment
Budget of 52 million KRW annually, 600,000 KRW per person allocated

A local government has prepared an ordinance to select elderly residents annually and send them on overseas trips, drawing criticism as 'populism.'

According to Yonhap News on the 4th, Seocheon-gun recently prepared a partial amendment to the ordinance on senior welfare, which supports overseas travel for 90 seniors aged 65 or older within the jurisdiction each year.

The amendment completed legislative notice by last month. It will be implemented immediately once it passes the Ordinance and Regulation Review Committee and the Seocheon-gun Council.

Once the amendment is finalized, the project can be launched immediately, including selecting overseas travel candidates through the Seocheon branch of the Korea Senior Citizens Association.

The amendment states the reason as "to establish a basis for projects for seniors who have a strong desire for overseas cultural exploration but have not been able to enjoy appropriate cultural activities due to a lack of tourism infrastructure."

It also emphasized plans to focus on planning and operating advanced domestic and international senior welfare cultures and customized specialized programs for senior health.

Seocheon-gun plans to allocate a budget of about 52 million KRW, with 600,000 KRW per person, to provide overseas travel opportunities to 90 people.

"Local governments should create an environment where residents can solve problems on their own"

Elderly people are walking on the street near Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

However, there are strong voices that Seocheon-gun’s ordinance amendment is a populist policy.

Separately, since 2020, Seocheon-gun has been operating a domestic travel program for senior leaders who are heads of senior centers, with an annual budget of 17.5 million KRW.

In response, a resident A of Seocheon-gun criticized, "Many public institutions and local councils domestically have been criticized for budget waste as they go on overseas training or business trips under the pretext of benchmarking and exploration. Spending a considerable amount of money every year on overseas trips that are obviously pleasure trips seems like a waste of taxpayers' money." He added, "Since there is already a domestic travel program for seniors, adding an overseas travel project feels strongly redundant."

Also, Jeon Sang-jik, president of the Korean Association of Resident Autonomy, said, "Personal matters like overseas travel should be resolved by the residents themselves, and administrative intervention should be minimized." He pointed out, "Local governments should create an environment where residents can solve problems on their own. Seocheon-gun’s project is a self-promotional and display-oriented administration that views residents as recipients of charity."

Jeon added, "With an aging society and the continuous increase in seniors, what effect would sending 90 people overseas every year have? Taking seniors on group overseas trips also raises concerns about health and safety risks. It is populism aimed at showing activity and pandering to popularity."

"Ordinances are matters to be decided by the council"

Seocheon County Office. [Image source=Yonhap News]

A Seocheon-gun official drew a line, saying, "I have never thought about the populism criticism and have nothing to say separately."

The official explained, "It is a matter for the council to decide, and if the amendment passes, it will be implemented. The project will be carried out as specified in the ordinance." He added, "Once the amendment is finalized, we plan to select candidates and prepare detailed project implementation plans starting this year."

Regarding criticism that the candidates will be arbitrarily selected by the Seocheon branch of the Senior Citizens Association and that those with close ties or acquaintances might be chosen, the official said, "I understand there are concerns about the Senior Citizens Association’s overreach as the executing agency." He added, "We will ask the Senior Citizens Association to select candidates fairly."

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