Choo Miae Counters Political Criticism of Fiscal Crisis: "It's the Tax Revenue Structure, Not Welfare, That's the Problem"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae directly refuted claims from some in the political sphere that "excessive welfare policies are the cause of the fiscal difficulties," in relation to the fiscal emergency in Gyeonggi Province that she officially declared on August 5.

On August 6, Governor Choo stated on her social networking service (SNS) that "the fiscal difficulties have not arisen because welfare was expanded, but rather, the fundamental reason is the rapid increase in residents who require welfare and public services." She lamented, "Emphasizing only the parts they wish to see distorts the whole picture and makes fiscal issues a matter of political dispute, which is nothing but obfuscating the real nature of the problem."

She went on to explain, "Gyeonggi Province is the metropolitan government with the largest population in South Korea, and also the region with the highest number of births; at the same time, the pace at which the senior population is increasing is faster here than in other regions," and "Since 2022, the total population has grown by about 300,000, but the number of residents aged 65 or older has risen by around 600,000, which is twice the increase of the overall population."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae's post on her social media on the 6th

In particular, she added, "With increases in both children and senior citizens, the structure is such that fiscal expenditure for public services—such as childcare, education, care, medical services, transportation, and housing—inevitably continues to rise rapidly."

Governor Choo further stated, "The biggest problem with the current local tax system is that although expenditures keep increasing, tax revenues generated by industrial growth are not returned to Gyeonggi Province," and "while responsibilities keep multiplying, the authority to handle these fiscal demands has not been granted."

She stressed, "As the largest local government in South Korea, Gyeonggi Province must be equipped with fiscal authority befitting its scale and role, so a fundamental reform of the local tax system and improvement of the tax revenue structure are necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.