Chinese tourists are not set to receive 250,000 won ($182) under a proposed government assistance plan, contrary to social media posts that surfaced after South Korea’s leading opposition Democratic Party passed a controversial cash handout bill in August 2024. A spokesperson for one of the lawmakers who drafted the bill said only foreigners who are residing in the country and are married to South Koreans, or have been granted permanent residency or asylum are eligible.
“Chinese tourists will also be given 250,000 won,” read Korean-language text shared in a graphic posted on Facebook on August 8, 2024.
The accompanying image shows former Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung speaking into a microphone.
Lee has been accused by ruling party supporters of being too subservient towards China, particularly after his controversial remarks during the election in which he used the using the Chinese term “xie xie” to say South Korea should thank both China and Taiwan for their economic ties (archived link).
The post surfaced after the opposition-controlled National Assembly passed a bill to provide a cash handout of 250,000 won to all South Korean citizens on August 2 as “emergency livelihood support” during a cost of living crisis, one of Lee’s general election pledges (archived link).
The plan has been opposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol and the ruling People Power Party (PPP), who say it is fiscally irresponsible. The Democratic Party struck down a filibuster by the PPP, but Yoon is still expected to veto the bill (archived link).
The same graphic was also shared on other Facebook pages linked to the PPP here, here and here.
Comments left on the posts indicated several users were misled to believe Lee or the Democratic Party bill proposed granting Chinese tourists cash handouts.
Several users called Lee crazy while others said he should fund the handout out of his own pocket “rather than with taxpayers’ money”.
Cash payout bill
But a spokesperson for Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo — who co-authored the bill — told AFP the claim in the posts were “not true”.
He went on to say Article 5 of the bill has clearly outlined which types of foreigners would be eligible to receive payouts and it did not include Chinese tourists.
According to the final draft of the bill posted on the National Assembly’s website, only foreigners residing in the country married to a South Korean national, those who have permanent residency status or those that were granted asylum in South Korea would be eligible for the handout (archived link).
The image of Lee shared with the false post corresponds to a scene from Channel A news footage of the former Democratic Party chairman first proposing the cash handout plan on March 24, in the leadup to the April election (archived link).
The report, which included snippets of Lee’s speech, said Lee proposed handing out 250,000 won to every South Korean citizen in his address.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and the original Channel A news report on Lee’s speech (right):
Footage of Lee’s entire speech that day, filmed by broadcaster JTBC, shows he made no mention of whether foreigners of any kind would be eligible for the payout (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked false claims related to Lee here, here and here.
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