Yoon Hee-sook Joins Local Currency Debate... "If Spread, Advantages Decrease and Disadvantages Intensify"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party known as an 'economic expert,' acknowledged both the pros and cons of the regional currency controversy heating up the political sphere but opposed it, stating, "If it spreads, the advantages decrease and only the disadvantages intensify."

On the 19th, Yoon said on Facebook, "Regional currencies are difficult to use online, cannot be used in other regions, are completely unusable in many industries, and even in included industries, it is hard to be sure whether they can be used until you arrive at the store. In that sense, regional currencies have significant drawbacks."

He also pointed out the political advantages, saying, "As a local government head, there is a strong desire to use them. It is not about helping small business owners in other regions but supporting small business owners in our own region, especially in industries like restaurants and markets where regional currencies are mainly used, creating an atmosphere where money seems to circulate, which is felt to help revitalize the local economy."

Yoon stated, "While principles are important and the enthusiasm of local government heads cannot be ignored, if this spreads among local governments, the intended advantages decrease and only the disadvantages intensify. Since everyone builds walls to use the currency only in their own region, the effect of promoting consumption within each region decreases, and the path where cross-border consumer spending leads to other spending that benefits neighboring regional economies is blocked."

He explained, "Considering the inconvenience to consumers whose spending purposes and methods are restricted from the start, it becomes difficult to justify maintaining the policy. At this stage, it is necessary for the central government to step in and coordinate, and this tax research institute report expresses concern about this point and makes recommendations to the central government."

Regarding Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who criticized the tax research institute report, he said, "The local government head criticized and threatened the experts who wrote the report because they did not like the experts' analysis results. Those in power trying to suppress them by force threatens a country's intellectual infrastructure and reveals the shallowness of their own insight regarding the value of expertise."