Donations to Uiseong surge 22-fold after fire

Donations to Uiseong County in North Gyeongsang Province, which suffered extensive damage from the worst wildfire in its history, increased 22-fold compared to the same period last year. Total contributions to the hometown donation program also nearly doubled nationwide as of March this year.

On April 24, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety released data for the first quarter of the hometown donation program, now in its third year. Total donations reached 18.35 billion won, a 1.9-fold increase from the same period last year (9.47 billion won). The number of contributions also rose to 153,000 cases, up 2.3 times from 68,000 last year. Under the program, donors can contribute to local governments outside their area of residence and receive a full tax deduction on up to 100,000 won.

The surge was particularly noticeable in eight municipalities in the Yeongnam region that were recently declared special disaster zones due to massive wildfires. These include Ulju County in Ulsan, and Uiseong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, and Yeongdeok counties in Andong, North Gyeongsang, and Sancheong, Hadong counties in South Gyeongsang. Combined donations to these areas in the first quarter totaled about 5 billion won, accounting for 27 percent of the national total.

By region, North Gyeongsang Province received the most donations, totaling 5.64 billion won. In particular, Uiseong County, one of the most severely affected areas, received 1.24 billion won, 22 times more than the same period last year and 2.7 times more than its total donations for all of 2023, which stood at 460 million won. Yeongdeok County also saw donations rise 8.4 times year-over-year to 1.57 billion won. According to the ministry, donation amounts increased in all 17 major administrative districts compared to the first quarter of last year.

The upward trend has continued into April. As of April 22, total cumulative donations reached 25.21 billion won across 205,000 cases, marking year-over-year increases of 2.1 and 2.3 times, respectively.


전혜진기자 sunrise@donga.com