People apply for the high-oil-price victim support fund. [Yonhap]
People apply for the high-oil-price victim support fund. [Yonhap]

More than 130,000 appeals were filed in the 10 days following the launch of the government's second round of high-oil-price victim support fund payments.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Sunday that approximately 134,000 appeals were submitted between June 18 and June 27 against eligibility decisions for the second-round payments.

Of those, 106,000 cases have been processed, with 93,000 appeals upheld.

The most common grounds for appeal were changes in eligibility status for vulnerable groups — including basic livelihood recipients and near-poverty households — accounting for 46,000 cases, or 34.6 percent of the total. National health insurance premium adjustments accounted for another 28,000 cases, or 21.2 percent.

The second-round payments target 32.56 million people in the bottom 70 percent of the income bracket. Payment amounts vary by region: 100,000 won (about $67) per person in the Greater Seoul metropolitan area, 150,000 won outside it, 200,000 won in population-decline priority zones and 250,000 won in special support areas. Near-poverty households and single-parent families receive between 450,000 won and 500,000 won, while basic livelihood recipients receive between 550,000 won and 600,000 won.

Eligibility was determined based on combined household national health insurance premium contributions assessed in March.

The surge in appeals appears to stem from widespread complaints that recent income drops and changes in household finances were not adequately reflected in health insurance premium calculations.

The narrower eligibility criteria this year are also a factor. Last year's second consumer coupon program covered 90 percent of the population — everyone except the top 10 percent of earners — but this year's fund is limited to the bottom 70 percent, fueling more health insurance-related disputes.

Last year's second round of livelihood recovery consumer coupons drew 168,000 total appeals, of which about 25,000 were related to national health insurance premium adjustments. This year, health insurance-related appeals alone surpassed 28,000 within just 10 days of the filing window opening — already exceeding last year's full total for that category.

Other grounds included birth-related appeals at 14,000 cases (10.4 percent) and appeals from people who had returned from overseas at 8,000 cases (6 percent).

The government is processing support fund payments through the appeals process for people who returned from overseas between March 30 and July 17, as well as for newborns born during the same period.

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