Administrative Trends in Korea

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Donating to Hometowns at the Online “Hometown Love e-um” System

In line with the enforcement of Hometown Love Donation Act from January 1, 2023, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) opened ‘Hometown Love e-um’ system, a one-stop service center providing various services such as making donations, submitting requests for thank-you gifts, and receiving automatic tax deductions.

This system was initiated to improve finance of local governments and boost economic development at the regional level. Citizens can make donations either online using the search keyword “Gohyang Sarang” (meaning ‘love for your hometown’) in major web portals (Naver, Daum, etc.) or in person from 5,900 Nonghyup branches in Korea.

The name ‘Hometown Love e-um’ was selected among 121 candidates submitted to a contest held by the Ministry from August to September, 2022. All the names sent in were reviewed and evaluated by experts and nationwide internet voting was conducted.

In linkage with the resident registration system, Hometown Love e-um can confirm in real-time whether donations are made by persons who are not residents of the relevant municipalities and whether the donation exceeds the maximum amount of 5 million KRW.

Donors can explore various thank-you gift options from 243 municipalities across the country and track the delivery status in real-time on the Hometown Love e-um system. Supported by the National Tax Service, donation deductions are automatically processed and does not require submission of an application.

Choi Hoon, Head of the Office of Local Administration and Decentralization at the MOIS, said, “The Ministry will spare no effort to ensure that the Hometown Love e-um system provides various information such as available local thank-you gifts and is easy and convenient to use.”

- Donation Guidelines -
  • Individuals (corporations not allowed) /
    Donation can be made to all local governments except for the one that has jurisdiction over the address of the donor.
  • (Limit of donation) KRW 5 million per person per year
    ※ The value of a thank-you gift should be within 30% of the donated amount.
  • (Tax credit) Full deduction up to 100,000 won, 16.5% deduction for excess of 100,000 won
  • (Violation) Criminal punishment for forcible donation, violation of fundraising method, etc.

[Source: Balanced Regional Development Division, Local Administration and Decentralization Office, MOIS]