Gyeongbuk Gyeongju City has decided to receive a total of 200 million won from Han Joo-sik, chairman of the Jisan Group, as a "hometown love donation" over the next 10 years starting this year. This amounts to 20 million won each year, which is the annual payment limit for the hometown love donation. Chairman Han's hometown is Gyeongju, but he operates a logistics and PC manufacturing company headquartered in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
The hometown love donation is a system that allows individuals to donate to their hometowns or other regions in exchange for tax deduction benefits and return gifts. The annual payment limit has increased from 5 million won to 20 million won starting this year. In January, six local governments across the country, including Gyeongju, received a donation of 20 million won.
◇ The hometown love donation limit increased to 20 million won… six local governments came in January
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 8th, all individuals who donated the hometown love donation limit of 20 million won are entrepreneurs. They are either running enterprises away from their hometowns or conducting business in the region, even if it is not their hometown.
Jeonnam Jangheung County received 20 million won from Heo Gi-soo, CEO of Songha Meat. Although Heo is not from Jangheung, he requested that the donation be used to develop the local livestock industry.
Ulsan Ulju County received 20 million won from Go Gi-han, CEO of H&T. He operates a disaster warning and display system installation enterprise.
Daejeon Metropolitan City received 20 million won from Lee Do-hoon, director of Yido Dental Hospital. He operates a dental hospital in Daejeon Daedeok District.
Gyeongbuk Uiseong County received 20 million won from Lee Jun-seok, CEO of Haedun Solar. Lee is involved in solar-related enterprises in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk.
Gangwon Hongcheon County received 20 million won from Ji Hyeong-geun, vice president of Samsung C&T. During the donation ceremony, Ji noted, "I hope to help the less fortunate neighbors and students in Hongcheon."
◇ In the first year of implementation in 2023, 65 billion won, 83.7 billion won in 2024… target of 100 billion won this year
The hometown love donation system was introduced in 2023. The total amount of hometown love donations received by local governments nationwide in the first year was 65 billion won. In the following year, 2024, the total amount of hometown love donations increased by 35% to 87.9 billion won, with all 17 provinces seeing an increase in donations. The local government with the highest donation amount was Jeonnam, with 18.75 billion won reported. Gyeongbuk (10.39 billion won) and Jeonbuk (9.32 billion won) followed.
Until now, the annual limit for the hometown love donation was 5 million won, but it has increased to 20 million won this year. Donations up to 100,000 won are fully tax-deductible. For donations over 100,000 won up to 20 million won, a 16.5% tax deduction is applied. If one donates 100,000 won, they can receive a refund of the same amount through year-end settlement and a return gift worth 30% of the donation, or 30,000 won, from the local government.
The government aims to raise a total of 100 billion won in donations this year. A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official said, "As the donation limit has been raised this year, we expect that donations to local governments will continue, particularly from regional entrepreneurs." As of January this year, the number of hometown love donations was about 30,000, which is a 75% increase compared to the same month last year.
The hometown love donation can be used to support socially vulnerable groups or enhance the cultural, artistic, and health promotion of local residents. In August last year, Jeonnam Gokseong County was able to operate a pediatric department with the hometown love donation. Previously, residents had to travel two hours round trip to nearby areas because there was no pediatric department. Chungnam Buyeo County also started operating a pediatric department with the hometown love donation in January. There are also local governments using the hometown love donation to assist self-reliant youth or recover from heavy snowfall damage.
The return gifts offered by local governments to those who donated hometown love funds are diverse. Last year, utilizing local specialties, Gwangju Dong-gu provided distilled spirits made from rice and nuruk, while Sacheon in Gyeongnam gave organic tomatoes grown by a master cultivator. Busan offered a share certificate for cultivating a community garden, and Gyeongbuk Sangju and Jeonnam Yeongam provided local currency that could be used like cash.