On the 19th, the Lee Jae-myung government announced the supplementary budget for 2025 with a second revision, omitting the issuance of the 'Onnuri gift certificates,' which was a consumption stimulus measure of the Yoon Suk-yeol government. The place of the Onnuri gift certificates has mostly been replaced by 'local love gift certificates' (local currency).
The budget for local currency reflected in the second supplementary budget approaches 11 trillion won. First, 10.3 trillion won will be invested in the 'living recovery consumption coupons' project, which provides 150,000 to 500,000 won to the entire population. Including local burdens, a total of approximately 13.2 trillion won will be released into the market.
With a budget of 600 billion won to support the issuance of local currencies, the scale of the issued local currencies reaches 8 trillion won. When combining these two, over 21 trillion won will be released temporarily through this second supplementary budget.
The government introduced a 'differential system by region' while injecting the budget to support the issuance of local currencies. The central government will subsidize 2% of the local currency issuance costs for three local governments—Seoul, Seongnam, and Hwaseong—that appear to have high fiscal independence and usually do not receive shared taxes. Until now, these local governments have not received any central government financial support for local currency issuance expenses.
In addition, the central government subsidy rate for local governments in the metropolitan area has been increased from 2% to 5%. For non-metropolitan areas, it has increased from 2% to 8%, and for areas with population decline, it has been raised from 5% to 10%.
During the first supplementary budget, 400 billion won in central government support allowed for the issuance of 9 trillion won in local currencies, but although the central government support budget increased during the second supplementary budget, the issuance scale has decreased.
The discount rates by region also vary. A minimum discount rate of 7% has been imposed on local governments that were left to self-manage. The metropolitan area has a rate of 10%, non-metropolitan areas have 13%, and areas with population decline have a 15% discount rate. In areas with population decline, it is possible to purchase a 100,000 won local love gift certificate for 85,000 won.
While the scale of support funds and discount rates were differentiated considering regional gaps, there are also calls for the need to vary support methods based on income or age.
Currently, the method by which local governments temporarily issue local currencies at designated times benefits the middle class, who typically hold a lot of cash and have purchasing power. Middle-class households often make substantial purchases of local currencies and then expend them for educational expenses in private tutoring institutions or for high-priced equipment like golf clubs.
Seok Byeong-hoon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, noted, 'The results of the investigation into the usage of local currencies show a tendency to be concentrated on educational expenses or medical bills,' and he further stated, 'Considering the intention to support struggling small businesses, there is a need to limit usage locations. It is also necessary to provide supplements to ensure purchasing opportunities for vulnerable groups.'
Past approaches that prioritized purchasing opportunities for the elderly with information gaps regarding the Onnuri gift certificates are mentioned as institutional supplements.
A senior official from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance stated, 'I will thoroughly examine the concerns that the purchasing opportunities for local currencies are concentrated in certain groups,' and added, 'If there are problems in the system, I will consider remedial measures.'