<Anchor> While the



government's national disaster subsidy is paid to 88% of the people, some local governments in Chungnam and Gangwon, following Gyeonggi-do, have decided to provide subsidies with their own budgets to residents who cannot receive them. Controversy over equity arises in the same province, and there are concerns about local finances.



This is reporter Hyung-woo Jeon.



<Reporter>



From next month, Gyeonggi Province will provide 250,000 won per person to the top 12% of residents who have not received disaster aid.



Chungcheongnam-do also agreed to give subsidies to the top 12% of the provincial residents, and is in discussion with local basic groups.



The province pays 50% of the cost and the basic organization pays the remaining 50%, but some local governments such as Cheonan City objected to it, raising a controversy over equity between regions.



[Kim Soo-young / Asan citizen: If you give everything, everything is good. Because of Corona 19, the whole nation is living in a difficult situation.]



[Mr. A/Citizen of Cheonan: I am dissatisfied. There seems to be some discrimination between the citizens of Asan and the citizens of Cheonan who are not far away.]



Seven local governments in Gangwon-do are also planning to make additional payments, but the problem is that they are worsening the financial independence of local governments.



From last year to June of this year, the universal support provided by local governments exceeded 5.4 trillion won, and the national average financial independence fell to the 43% level.



Independent of the government subsidy, Hongcheon-gun, which agreed to give 200,000 won per person, had a financial independence of 11%, and Pocheon City, which gave 600,000 won to each person last year and this year, is 24%.



[Park Sang-in/Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University: (local governments) have to pay debts or borrow money to spend on other things.

There are many local governments that unreasonably give disaster aid as a popular-fighting strategy.] In



a situation where the self-employed are making extreme choices one after another because they cannot withstand the financial difficulties and hardships of living, it is necessary to consider a plan to provide thick support to the affected industries or the vulnerable first.



(Video coverage: Kang Yoon-goo, video editing: Jo Moo-hwan)