Daejeon City raised 1.99 billion won through hometown love donation last year, a 317% increase from the previous year. This was the largest increase in donations among local governments nationwide. Last year, Daejeon City provided gift certificates from a famous local bakery, Seongsimdang, as thank-you gifts to donors. Busan City is renting out community garden plots of 16 to 23 square meters for up to three years to individuals who donate more than 200,000 won to the city. This allows them to use the land as a thank-you gift.
Local governments are attracting donations from expatriates living away from their hometowns by offering various thank-you gifts. The government has forecast that this year, the hometown love donation program, now in its third year, will collect a total of 100 billion won.
◇This year, 17 cities and provinces raised 87.9 billion won... an increase of 135% from the previous year
On the 22nd, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced the results of the hometown love donation program for 2024.
According to the results announced by the government that day, the total amount raised through the hometown love donation program in the 17 cities and provinces last year was 87.9 billion won (provisional value), which is a 35% increase from the previous year. The number of donations also increased by 147%, totaling 774,000 cases.
All 17 cities and provinces nationwide saw increases in donations compared to the previous year. Jeonnam had the highest amount raised at 18.75 billion won, followed by Gyeongbuk (10.39 billion won) and Jeonbuk (9.32 billion won). In terms of the increase in donation amounts from the previous year, Daejeon led with 317%, followed by Gwangju (299%) and Sejong (206%).
The hometown love donation program allows donors to choose their birthplace or any area they wish to support for their contributions. It targets individuals and allows donations to all local governments nationwide except for their registered addresses. For example, residents of Seoul can donate to all local governments except for Seoul.
The government introduced the hometown love donation program last year in response to local extinction. It benchmarked Japan's "hometown tax system," which has provided donors with local specialty products and other thank-you gifts since 2008. After recording 8.14 billion yen (about 74.5 billion won) in its first year, it increased to 96.54 billion yen (about 88.865 trillion won) by 2022.
◇Local government fundraising competition, a competition for thank-you gifts
The variety of thank-you gifts is cited as a reason local governments were able to increase contributions compared to the previous year. Local governments can give thank-you gifts to donors worth up to 30% of the donated amount. For instance, if someone donates 100,000 won, they can receive goods valued at 30,000 won.
As of last year, local governments offered a total of 14,989 items as thank-you gifts. Most of the gifts are local specialties, which help activate the local economy. The amount spent by donors on thank-you gifts last year was 20.5 billion won, a 36% increase from the previous year.
Thank-you gifts are not limited to local specialties. Busan City offers donated public garden rights, while Tongyeong in Gyeongnam provides night sea tour experience vouchers. Gimje in Jeonbuk offers lodging discounts at the famous tourist attraction Byeokgolje Village.
To expand the hometown love donation program, the government will increase the individual donation limit from the existing 5 million won to 20 million won this year. Additionally, it plans to add six more private donation platforms, bringing the total to 12.
Acting Minister of the Interior and Safety Ko Gi-dong noted, "Based on the achievements of the first two years, we will improve the convenience for donors this year so that the hometown love donation program can play a greater role."