South Korea Hometown Love Donation funds see high stagnation rates

An analysis of the Hometown Love Donation System reveals that a significant portion of collected funds remains unspent across South Korea. According to data analyzed by Representative Park Jeong-hyeon, approximately 241 billion won, or 69.7% of the 345.7 billion won collected nationwide since the system's inception in 2023, remains as idle funds.

In the Jeonnam-Gwangju region, while the total fund balance is the highest in the country at roughly 59.7 billion won, the region shows relatively active utilization compared to the national average, with a fund balance ratio of 61.5%. Notably, the top five local municipalities for donation totals nationwide are all located within this region, including Gwangju Dong-gu, which leads with 11.1 billion won.

In contrast, Gyeonggi Province faces challenges with fund stagnation. Of the 19.2 billion won collected in the province, 74.1% remains in funds. Furthermore, 12 of the 31 municipalities in Gyeonggi have reported zero expenditure on projects since 2023. In these areas, operating and promotional expenses account for 51.5% of total allocated funds, significantly higher than the national average of 33.1%.

Representative Park has called for structural reforms, suggesting that metropolitan governments should collaborate with local municipalities on projects and that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety should establish better systems for disclosing fund usage and discovering new projects.