Livelihood Recovery Coupons Fully Funded by Central Government at 150,000-500,000 Won... Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree on 13 Trillion Won Supplementary Budget

Plenary Session of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee
Bipartisan Agreement Reached on Supplementary Budget Bill

On July 1, the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee held a plenary session and approved, by bipartisan agreement, an additional supplementary budget bill related to the distribution of “Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupons” worth 1.32 trillion won.

National Assembly Building, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The committee deleted the clause requiring local governments to contribute 290 billion won to the coupon issuance budget, which in the government’s original plan had called for the central government to cover 1.03 trillion won and local governments to cover 290 billion won. As a result, the central government will now bear 100% of the budget for the nationwide Livelihood Recovery Support Fund. This change was made following continued criticism that financially strained local governments should not be burdened with the issuance costs.

The “Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupons,” which are the core element of this supplementary budget bill, will be distributed to all citizens to boost domestic demand, with amounts ranging from 150,000 won to 500,000 won depending on income level.

The committee also passed, as originally proposed, a supplementary budget of 60 billion won for local currency programs.

The supplementary budget bill is expected to be submitted to the plenary session as early as July 3, after review and approval by the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.