Gwangju is divided over the consumer recovery coupons that are distributed according to income levels. Criticism has been raised that low-income individuals are being unfairly discriminated against, leading the city to decide to unify the colors by creating and attaching stickers.
According to Gwangju City on the 23rd, the city plans to produce stickers that can be attached to cards of different colors so they can be unified with the lowest amount prepaid card. This measure comes as concerns were raised that the distribution of consumer recovery coupons is unfairly discriminating against vulnerable groups based on the colors of prepaid cards, which are categorized by amount.
Gwangju City began distributing consumer recovery coupons in the form of prepaid cards at community centers from the 21st. The prepaid cards were divided into three types: general use (pink), single-parent households (green), and basic livelihood recipients (blue), with each card loaded with 180,000 won, 330,000 won, and 430,000 won, respectively.
As the prepaid cards were issued in different colors, single-parent households and others voiced their dissatisfaction, leading to protests. For those facing economic difficulties, obtaining credit cards can be challenging. They have no choice but to opt for prepaid cards, but there are concerns that if the colors indicate income levels, it may pose difficulties in usage.
In response, Gwangju City plans to attach pink stickers to the green and blue prepaid cards since it is not possible to produce a unified prepaid card immediately. It will also produce a separate prepaid card that matches the color of the general-use card and distribute it by the end of next month.
A total of 1,389,786 people in the Gwangju area will receive 278 billion won in consumer recovery coupons. Among them, approximately 12,000 people are eligible for 330,000 won, and about 45,000 people for 430,000 won. As of that day, 40,6167 people, or 29.23%, have received 81.5 billion won.