Gwangju City Issues Consumption Coupons in Different Colors by Income Level
Sticker Measure Introduced Amid Discrimination Controversy; Public Officials Mobilized
"Mayor Makes the Mistake, Public Officials Clean Up the Mess" - Backlash Emerges
The city of Gwangju, which caused controversy by issuing consumption coupon physical cards in different colors based on income levels, has begun an overnight operation to "correct discrimination." Some of the mobilized public officials are protesting, saying that after being on standby for emergency disaster response and subsequent recovery work due to flood damage, they now have to work through the night as well.
According to the Gwangju Regional Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union and other sources on the 23rd, starting at 9 p.m. that evening, about 400 employees from local administrative welfare centers began replacing the colors of the physical cards. This supplementary measure involves covering the card's color and amount with stickers so that they cannot be distinguished.
On the afternoon of the 23rd, the third day of the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon distribution, an employee is holding physical cards of different colors at the Nongsung 1-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju. Photo by Yonhap News
Previously, Gwangju City had produced the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon physical cards in three colors: pink for the 180,000 won card (top 10%+general recipients), light green for the 330,000 won card (second-lowest income bracket+single-parent families), and navy blue for the 430,000 won card (basic livelihood security recipients), which sparked controversy. This is because the color of the card alone could reveal the user's economic status or personal information.
A Gwangju City official stated that "the different card colors were intended to minimize confusion at the coupon distribution sites," but there has been a series of criticisms that this is a convenience-oriented administrative measure lacking sensitivity to human rights. President Lee Jaemyung also strongly criticized the measure, citing a lack of human rights awareness.
In response, Gwangju City belatedly announced a plan to cover the card colors with stickers and instructed employees around 6 p.m. to stand by as red stickers would be distributed. Employees expressed their dissatisfaction on internal bulletin boards, saying that, in addition to the increased workload from recent flood recovery and consumption coupon distribution, they were being mobilized for overnight work that would not be required in other local governments.
On the internal bulletin board of the administrative network "Saewol," critical comments continued, such as "If City Hall made the mistake, City Hall should fix it. Why is it being done at the district offices?" "The mayor makes the mistake, but public officials are left to clean up the mess," and "Is there any point in putting on the stickers?" One public official lamented, "During natural disasters like heatwaves and heavy rains, all employees are on standby, deployed for flood recovery work, and handling the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon distribution. Will the overtime work limit ever be lifted? There is just too much overtime work."
The public officials' union plans to issue a critical statement on the 24th. Baek Seongdong, head of the Gwangju Regional Headquarters of the Korean Government Employees' Union, stated, "It is unfair to order overnight work, delaying employees' departure, even though the city is aware that staff are already exhausted due to flood damage," and added, "The union will respond at the organizational level."
Gwangju City has issued an apology to its employees. Joo Jaehui, Director of Economic and Startup Affairs of Gwangju City, said, "We deeply apologize for damaging Gwangju's reputation as a city that values human rights above all else, and for increasing the burden on city and district public officials," and added, "We will use this as an opportunity to conduct self-examination to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future."
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