Shameless 'Yangsim Yangsan'... Refuses to Return, Buys New Ones Worth Tens of Millions Annually

Return not enforced, resulting in only half recovery rate
No effect even if borrower’s name and contact are recorded

As a measure to prevent heatwaves during the summer, the "Conscience Parasol" project, which lends parasols for free, has spread to several local governments, but the actual return rate of parasols is known to be only about half.

According to Daegu Buk-gu Office on the 10th, of the approximately 3,800 Conscience Parasols stocked last year at the district office and 23 local administrative welfare centers, only 53% were returned. About 1,800 parasols were not returned. There were even places where not a single parasol was returned, resulting in a 0% return rate.

The Conscience Parasol project, part of the summer heatwave prevention efforts, allows free borrowing and returning. Because returns are left to voluntary action, the return rate is low, and as the end of the year approaches, the parasol inventory falls to less than half.

Over the past three years, Buk-gu Office has spent a total of 60 million KRW on the Conscience Parasol project. Most of the budget, composed of city funds, is used to replenish parasols that were not returned.

Daegu Seo-gu's Yangsim Yangsan hat rack is completely empty
[Image source=Yonhap News]

A Buk-gu Office official explained, "On hot days, the parasols stocked that day sometimes run out within 10 minutes," adding, "Therefore, to control inventory, sometimes only a certain number of parasols are stocked daily."

He continued, "Since the Conscience Parasol project is close to a welfare service, we do not place great emphasis on returns, but we are concerned because the return rate is low every year."

The district office has proposed various measures to solve the return problem, such as recording the borrower's name and contact information in a ledger, but none have achieved clear results.

In Incheon as well, out of 10 districts and counties, five areas including Jung-gu, Dong-gu, Namdong-gu, Seo-gu, and Ganghwa-gun operate parasol lending projects, but since returns cannot be enforced, many parasols are not returned. It is difficult to identify those who do not return them, and there are limits to staff checking individually.

Seo-gu, which has continued the parasol lending project since 2020, invested 5 million KRW this year to purchase 320 parasols that were lost or insufficient last year. Namdong-gu, operating the parasol lending project for four years, also newly prepared 80 parasols this year.

Bupyeong-gu also started the parasol lending project in 2020 but has currently discontinued it due to low return rates and effectiveness.

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