[2025 Audit] Oh Se-hoon: "We Will Not Comply with Unilateral Notifications on Government Livelihood Coupon Issuance"

Criticism Over Government's Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupons
Mayor Oh Voices Concerns About Local Governments' Financial Burden
"We Lost Half Our Gains Despite Efforts to Reduce Debt"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed concerns over the financial burden placed on local governments due to the issuance of local bonds related to the government's livelihood recovery consumption coupon program, stating, "We will not comply with unilateral notifications in the future."

During the Seoul City audit by the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee on the 23rd, Mayor Oh responded to criticism from Lee Dal-hee, a member of the People Power Party, who pointed out the side effects of the government’s consumption coupon program. He said, "Seoul has made significant efforts to reduce its debt through considerable austerity, but this time, we have lost half of those gains," in agreement with the criticism.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is attending the "2025 National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee Audit" held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Yonhap News

Considering the 350 billion won local financial burden caused by the government’s livelihood recovery consumption coupon program, the Seoul Metropolitan Government prepared its second supplementary budget of over 1 trillion won on August 1. The main issue was the city’s share of the cost resulting from the issuance of the consumption coupons. Among the 17 metropolitan and provincial governments, Seoul was the only one subject to a 75% national subsidy rate, leaving the city to shoulder a 350 billion won burden.

On this day, Mayor Oh explained that he had directly raised the issue of issuing local bonds for the consumption coupon program with the President during the Governors’ Council meeting. He said, "There was no prior consultation about requiring local governments to bear the financial burden for the consumption coupon issuance. At the beginning of the President's term, we made extra efforts to cooperate with the policy, but I said that from now on, we would have no choice but to take on debt to provide support."

Members of the People Power Party continued to raise concerns. Assemblyman Joo Ho-young criticized, "During his presidential campaign, President Lee Jaemyung said that the way for local governments to survive is for the central government to transfer resources and authority to the local level. However, at the plenary session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on September 5, a supplementary budget of 1.7999 trillion won was passed, of which 83% was allocated to the livelihood recovery consumption coupon program. Since Mayor Oh took office, Seoul’s debt was reduced by 600 billion won, but now the debt has increased again, and 350 billion won in local bonds was issued in a single instance for the coupons." Mayor Oh also emphasized, "Isn’t it problematic to make such unilateral decisions without any consultation with Seoul?"