Sungkwon Lee: "Local Governments Forced to Use Disaster Funds for Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon... Burden Should Not Be Shifted to Regions"

Annual Interest Payments of 134 Billion Won Add to the Burden
Contradiction Pointed Out Between the Justification for Balanced Development and Reality

On November 11, Sungkwon Lee, a member of the People Power Party, argued that the budget for the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon should be allocated entirely from national funds. He pointed out that, given the poor financial conditions of local governments, the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon could become a burden.

During the plenary session of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts that day, Assemblyman Lee stated, "President Lee Jaemyung has described balanced national development as our destiny and has advocated for the 'Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Autonomous Provinces' (5 ultra-wide regions and 3 special autonomous provinces) to achieve this. I fully agree with this," he said. "However, regardless of the policy objectives or intentions, I have previously pointed out during settlement reviews that, in practice, there is a contradictory approach where the accelerator for balanced development is pressed while simultaneously applying the brakes."

Sungkwon Lee, Member of the People Power Party Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "The fiscal independence ratio of 70% of metropolitan local governments nationwide is on a downward trend, and among 226 basic local governments, 125 have seen a decline in their fiscal independence ratio for 2025 compared to the previous year." He added, "Local government debt is increasing, and their liabilities are rising." He went on to say, "Although the government talks about balanced development, the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon has, in some respects, had a negative impact on this. Despite unfavorable conditions, mandatory expenditures and the proportion of social welfare spending by local governments are on the rise. As a result, local governments are forced to take on more debt."

Assemblyman Lee explained, "Local governments ultimately borrowed 1.07 trillion won to issue the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon, and the annual interest payments alone amount to 134 billion won." He added, "To secure funding, they tapped into disaster relief funds, disaster response funds, and contingency reserves." He further noted, "While it is possible to secure resources through business restructuring, this has been achieved by suspending or canceling budgets for children's programs and various regional cultural projects."

He concluded, "There was insufficient communication with local governments," and emphasized, "Even if the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon is implemented, it should not impose a burden on local governments."

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