'Hometown Love Donation' Headed to Muan... 1.1 Billion Won Raised in Two Days

2024 Fundraising Amount Reaches Three Times That of the Previous Year

It has been revealed that 1.1 billion won in donations were collected over two days in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, where the Jeju Air passenger plane accident occurred, showing a concentrated fundraising effort for hometown love donations.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 3rd that based on the provisional 2024 hometown love donation figures, a total of 1.5 billion won was raised in Muan-gun in 2023, which is three times the total amount of 500 million won collected in 2023. This amount ranks 4th among 266 basic local governments nationwide in terms of total donations.

In particular, about 1.1 billion won was raised over two days from the 30th to 31st of last month, immediately after the accident, accounting for 71% of last year’s total donations. This was the largest amount collected among all basic local governments nationwide during the same period. The average daily donation amount after the accident surged to about 450 times the previous level. From January last year until the day of the accident, Muan-gun’s donation record was approximately 440 million won (3,000 cases), about one-third of the total donations.

On the 31st, citizens are paying their respects at the joint memorial altar for the victims of the Jeju Air passenger plane accident set up in front of Seoul City Hall. Photo by Heo Young-han

Following the accident, posts encouraging support for Muan through hometown love donations spread rapidly on internet communities and SNS, which is interpreted as a strong response from many citizens. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety explained, "This reflects the public’s heartfelt desire to overcome the crisis together."

A representative of the Muan-gun hometown love donation program said, "We are grateful for the warm hearts shown by the public through hometown love donations. Since these donations carry special significance, we will do our best to use them responsibly to help overcome the disaster and ease the pain of the affected families."

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the provisional amount of hometown love donations for 2024 reached 89 billion won, an increase of about 24 billion won compared to the total of 65 billion won raised in 2023. The number of donation cases also increased by 50% to approximately 790,000.

Overall, large donations decreased, while the number of donations under 100,000 won, which are fully tax-deductible, increased. High-value donations at the maximum limit of 5 million won decreased from 2,052 cases in 2023 to 1,435 cases in 2024. Meanwhile, donations under 100,000 won increased from 510,000 cases to 770,000 cases during the same period.

Ko Ki-dong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (acting minister), said, "We thank the public for their great interest and warmth shown through hometown love donations during this national disaster. We will ensure that the hometown love donation program is well established as an opportunity for disaster recovery and regional revitalization."