Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin: "Disaster Relief Funds Should Be Provided to All Citizens... Moral Burden Should Not Be an 'Unnecessary Addition'"

Published 26 Apr.2020 13:56(KST)

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin announced special measures to respond to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on March 1st at the situation room on the 2nd floor of Daegu City Hall.
Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Park Hee-eun] Kwon Young-jin, the mayor of Daegu, stated that emergency disaster relief funds to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic should be provided to all citizens nationwide. He also argued that the additional remark about recovering the funds through donations increases the moral burden on the public.

On the 25th, Mayor Kwon wrote on his Facebook, "Since Daegu's emergency livelihood funds are limited in budget, I thought it was right to give a certain amount to those who are currently struggling with their livelihood rather than giving a small amount to everyone."

He continued, "I expected that providing the funds as prepaid cards or gift certificates rather than cash would help activate the local economy by encouraging spending in traditional markets and neighborhood businesses."

He added, "The effect of revitalizing traditional markets is gradually appearing," and apologized, saying, "I sincerely regret causing confusion, dissatisfaction, and disappointment among many citizens."

In a subsequent post, Mayor Kwon emphasized, "I hope the emergency disaster relief funds supported by the government will not leave such trial-and-error and regrets," and stressed, "I believe it is right to provide them to all citizens."

He also said, "I hope there will be no additional remarks that create a moral burden, such as suggesting that public officials or those who are financially stable may choose not to apply or recover the funds through donations," adding, "That should be left to the mature civic consciousness and voluntary choice of the people."