Gangnam Namhae County will provide 100,000 won per resident under the name of 'livelihood stabilization support fund.' The funds will be distributed not in cash but in the form of Namhae love gift certificates.
Namhae County noted on the 28th that it aims to overcome the ongoing domestic recession and invigorate the local economy. Eligible recipients include Korean nationals and foreign residents with marriage visas (F-6) and permanent resident status (F-5) who are registered as residents in Namhae County.
The support funding is to be paid in bulk to the heads of households, and the plan is to complete the payments by next month. Namhae County recommends that the funds be used by the end of October this year. The gift certificates can be used at 1,911 affiliated stores within Namhae County, including 32 stores with annual sales exceeding 3 billion won.
Recently, Namhae County proposed the 'livelihood stabilization support fund support ordinance' to establish a basis for providing support funds to overcome the challenges facing the livelihood economy, which has received approval from the county council. Under this ordinance, approximately 4 billion won for support funds to be provided to about 39,600 residents is included in the '2025 first supplementary budget proposal,' which the county council approved on the 25th.
Namhae County plans to utilize the holiday period in early May to encourage local consumption and stimulate the local economy. There are criticisms that Namhae County, which has a low financial independence rate, is distributing support funds in a populist manner. This year, Namhae County's financial independence rate is 10.04%.
In addition, in the Gyeongnam region, Geoje City is pushing to provide 200,000 won per person as a livelihood recovery support fund to invigorate the local economy, which is causing controversy.
Jang Chung-nam, the mayor of Namhae County, is the only head of a local government elected from the Democratic Party of Korea in the Gyeongnam region during the 2022 local elections. Byun Kwan-yong, the mayor of Geoje, won the by-election in April as a candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, defeating the People Power Party candidate.