"Give Back My Taxes": Marriage Migrant Woman Faces Online Backlash After Posting Proof of 850,000 Won Consumption Coupon

Naturalized Marriage Migrant Shares Consumption Coupon on SNS
Xenophobic Claims of "Foreigners Benefiting from Taxes" Spread Online

A naturalized marriage migrant woman became the target of xenophobic comments online after she posted about receiving the government's "Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon." Comments accused her of being a foreigner who received the coupon without paying any taxes, but these claims were not true.

SNS post of a marriage immigrant woman verifying receipt of the 'Minsheng Recovery Consumption Coupon.' Thread capture

On July 23, a marriage migrant woman from Cambodia, referred to as Ms. A, posted a message on her social networking service (SNS) account saying, "Thank you, Republic of Korea," along with a photo showing the consumption coupons she received from the government. The photo displayed three prepaid cards with a total value of 850,000 won.

Ms. A appears to have received 400,000 won as a basic livelihood security recipient and an additional 50,000 won for residing in a depopulated rural area. In addition, it is presumed that she also collected two cards worth 200,000 won each, which were issued to her spouse and one child, totaling two family members.

The post attracted hundreds of comments and widespread attention from netizens. Comments included criticisms such as "Give back my taxes," "What have you done for Korea to get 850,000 won?" "Foreigners are being cared for with our citizens' taxes," "Receiving benefits without paying taxes," and "This is why I oppose marriage migration." Some users even used racially discriminatory language to insult her country of origin.

However, Ms. A became a naturalized Korean citizen in February and is now a legitimate Korean national. She fully met the eligibility requirements for the benefit, but became the target of hate speech solely because of her appearance and background.

The claim that the government distributed consumption coupons to foreigners who do not pay taxes is also false. The government fundamentally excluded foreigners from this round of consumption coupon distribution. However, exceptions were made for individuals listed on a resident registration with Korean nationals and enrolled in health or medical insurance, as well as permanent residents (F-5), marriage migrants (F-6), and recognized refugees (F-2-4) who are also enrolled in health or medical insurance. These individuals pay income tax, local tax, and social insurance premiums just like Korean nationals.

Not all comments on the post were critical of the woman. Some netizens left supportive messages such as, "She is raising children in a depopulated area?there's no reason for this much criticism," "I hope you are not hurt by indiscriminate hate," "Ignore the negative comments and treat yourself to something delicious," and "I'm sorry for all the malicious comments here."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the number of foreigners eligible for this round of consumption coupons is approximately 358,000.