"400 Million Won Each for Small Business Owners Needed" Jang Deokcheon Criticizes Lee Jae-myung's Disaster Basic Income Controversy

Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly Bucheon City Assembly Members "Mayor Jang, Pouring Cold Water... Must Publicly Apologize" Criticism and Backlash

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced that he would provide 100,000 won in disaster basic income to all residents, while Bucheon Mayor Jang Deok-cheon opposed this, arguing that giving 4 million won to small business owners would be better, sparking ongoing controversy.
/Photo by Jang Deok-cheon (Twitter capture)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced that he would provide disaster basic income of 100,000 won to all residents, Bucheon Mayor Jang Deokcheon opposed the plan, arguing that it would be better to give 4 million won to small business owners, sparking ongoing controversy.

On the 24th, Mayor Jang posted on his Twitter, stating, "The reason for providing basic income is to increase consumption and thereby boost sales of small business owners, but as long as COVID-19 continues, consumption patterns will not change," and added, "Places that are doing well will continue to do better, and those that are not will remain in difficulty."

He continued, "Providing 100,000 won each to Bucheon’s population of 870,000 would cost 87 billion won, but I believe it is better to give 4 million won each to 20,000 small business owners who are struggling," expressing opposition to Gyeonggi Province’s disaster basic income policy.

In response to these claims, Gyeonggi Province stated, "We will not provide disaster basic income to local governments that oppose it," and added, "We are considering additional incentives for places that provide more disaster basic income, such as Yeoju City."

As the controversy escalated, on the 25th, Mayor Jang posted on his Facebook, saying, "The support plan was unanimously approved by the Gyeonggi Provincial Council," and "Since the consultation on the province-level payment has been completed, further controversy related to Gyeonggi Disaster Basic Income is undesirable as a mayor."

However, the Democratic Party members of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council representing Bucheon City issued a statement on the same day, criticizing, "Mayor Jang, who represents 870,000 Bucheon citizens, poured cold water on the matter," and "At a time when even doing our best in our respective positions is insufficient, he only stirred up political controversy that does not help the public’s livelihood at all."

They added, "The Gyeonggi Province-style disaster basic income is a policy decided after repeated deliberations by the Gyeonggi Province executive and the Provincial Council," and "We secured 1.3642 trillion won in resources by combining three disaster management funds. The reason Gyeonggi Province and the Provincial Council prepared such a strong preemptive measure is because we share the recognition that the current situation is a serious crisis that could undermine the very foundation of the nation."

They further pointed out, "We understand Mayor Jang’s anguish, but now is not the time to express unrefined personal opinions leisurely."

They especially stated, "How can it be acceptable to disparage and obstruct the results of cooperative governance created by institutions representing public opinion?" and "We solemnly urge Mayor Jang Deokcheon of Bucheon City, who misunderstood the Gyeonggi Province-style disaster basic income system and caused confusion among Bucheon citizens, to publicly apologize and reflect on his actions on behalf of 13.64 million Gyeonggi residents and 870,000 Bucheon citizens."

Meanwhile, on the 24th, Gyeonggi Province announced the 'Gyeonggi Province-style Disaster Basic Income' policy as an emergency economic measure due to COVID-19, providing 100,000 won per person to all residents of Gyeonggi Province without selection. Starting in April, the province will provide 100,000 won per resident, and 400,000 won for a family of four, as disaster basic income.