A livelihood support payment pledge unveiled by Democratic Party candidate Jeong In-hwa in the closely contested race for mayor of Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, is triggering political backlash and counterattacks.
The pledge has reminded Gwangyang residents that neighboring Suncheon already distributed two rounds of livelihood support payments of 200,000 won and 150,000 won. As the election enters its final stretch, distrust in Jeong's administration during the 8th popularly elected local government era is also surfacing, intensifying attacks from rival candidates.
According to local political sources on Tuesday, the camp of independent candidate Park Sung-hyun in the Gwangyang mayoral race for the June 3 local elections issued a commentary the previous day targeting Democratic Party candidate Jeong In-hwa's recent pledge to "pay 400,000 won per citizen." Park's camp argued, "Just a few days ago, he was criticizing such support payment policies as populism lacking funding sources, but now he is proposing an even larger-scale plan."
Earlier, Jeong unveiled a plan to distribute a total of 400,000 won per citizen in livelihood support payments, along with the "Gwangyang Grand Transformation Project" aimed at securing future growth engines for the city. The payments would not begin this year. Jeong said, "Given the city's fiscal conditions this year, immediate disbursement is difficult, so we will pay citizens a total of 400,000 won in livelihood support payments — 200,000 won each in the first and second halves of next year — in two installments," presenting a specific roadmap.
However, critics call Jeong's livelihood support payment plan nonsensical. Jeong had previously challenged Park Sung-hyun's pledge to provide 300,000 won in livelihood support payments, asking, "Gwangyang City has only 2 billion won — how can the funding be secured?"
Amid this situation, the issue of damage to perilla leaf farms caused by the drift of pest control chemicals sprayed by Gwangyang City — which had been raised during a televised debate — has resurfaced, with calls for Jeong to take responsibility.
The court ruled in favor of the farmers in the case, and citizens' anger stems from what they describe as the opaque administrative attitude of Gwangyang City.
It was confirmed that Gwangyang City used a chemical containing the phenothrin component during pest control operations in the summer of 2023. However, despite the court acknowledging the possibility of the pest control chemical's drift, Gwangyang City has yet to transparently disclose to citizens the quantity used, the frequency and locations of spraying, the purchase process, and safety review materials.
Gwangyang citizens have called on the city for active explanation and response.
The demands include: full disclosure of the 2023 purchase records of pest control chemicals containing phenothrin; full disclosure of the dates, frequency, locations, and quantities of spraying; immediate investigation of crop damage in the area; disclosure of whether health impact and epidemiological investigations of citizens will be pursued; an official apology to affected farmers and substantive relief measures; an audit of the chemical's selection and procurement process; and the formation of an independent fact-finding committee involving outside experts.
Park Sung-hyun's camp said, "The 'phenothrin' component in the chemical that Gwangyang City sprayed under the name of pest control is a powerful insecticide ingredient that is not registered as a domestic pesticide." The camp added, "Spraying it near citizens' living areas and farmland without sufficient safety measures is incompetent administration that has forgotten even the basics of pest control." It further criticized the case as "a serious administrative failure that has threatened both the image of clean Gwangyang agricultural products and citizens' safety."
