The purpose of this Act is to create a sound culture of making donations to hometowns and to revitalize local economies by prescribing necessary matters regarding the collection and receipt of hometown love donations, the management and operation of hometown love funds, etc., thereby contributing to the balanced development of the national economy.
The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
| 1. | The term "hometown love donation" means money provided voluntarily by persons other than the residents of a relevant local government or acquired through collections in order for the local government to secure financial resources to be used for promoting the welfare of its residents or other purposes; |
| 2. | The term "collection of hometown love donations" means any act by a local government of requesting or asking other persons to provide it with hometown love donations or making such demand by advertising, using information and communications networks, or any other means. |
| Article 2-2 (Hometown Love Day) |
| (1) | The Hometown Love Day shall be designated and celebrated in order to raise wider public awareness of the value and importance of hometown. |
| (2) | Matters necessary for the designation and celebration of the Hometown Love Day shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
[This Article Newly Inserted on Jan. 3, 2023]
| Article 3 (Relationship to Other Statutes) |
| Article 4 (Persons Collecting Hometown Love Donations and Those from Whom Such Donations Are Collected) |
| (1) | A local government may collect and receive hometown love donations only from persons who are not its residents. |
| (2) | Where a local government or its public official falls under any of the following cases, the Minister of the Interior and Safety may restrict the local government from collecting and receiving hometown love donations for a period not exceeding one year in the following fiscal year: |
| 1. | Where the local government or its public official forces, or actively asks or encourages, persons to make hometown love donations, in violation of Article 6 (1) or (2); |
| 2. | Where the local government or its public official collects hometown love donations by any methods other than those prescribed in Article 7. |
| (3) | Specific periods for restrictions provided in paragraph (2) and other matters shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 5 (Restrictions on Donations) |
| (1) | No person shall make hometown love donations in another person’s name or a false name. |
| (2) | No person shall make donations to a local government having interests in his or her right or benefit in property arising from business, employment, contracts, dispositions, etc. or having any other relations with him or her. |
| Article 6 (Prohibition on Forcing Donations and Collections) |
| (1) | No person shall force other persons to make or collect hometown love donations using relations in business, employment, etc. |
| (2) | No public official shall force, or actively ask or encourage, his or her employees to make or collect hometown love donations. |
| Article 7 (Methods of Collecting Hometown Love Donations) |
| (1) | A local government may collect hometown love donations through advertising media prescribed by Presidential Decree: Provided, That hometown love donations shall not be collected by any of the following methods: |
| 3. | Participating in or attending private gatherings, such as hometown community associations and alumni associations, to actively ask or encourage their members to make donations; |
| 4. | Other methods prescribed by Presidential Decree, which are similar to those prescribed in subparagraphs 1 through 3. |
| (2) | Methods and procedures for collecting hometown love donations under paragraph (1) and other matters shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 8 (Receipt and Maximum Amount of Hometown Love Donations) |
| (1) | Hometown love donations shall be paid to a financial institution designated by the head of a local government, or they shall be received by means of electronic payment through the information system prescribed in Article 12, credit card, or electronic funds transfer or at the office building of a local government or other public places. |
| (2) | Where a local government receives hometown love donations, it shall issue a receipt to a person who makes such donations (hereinafter referred to as "donor") in the name of the head of the local government. |
| (3) | The annual maximum amount of hometown love donations made by each person shall be five million won. |
| (4) | Except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), matters necessary for methods, procedures, etc. for receiving hometown love donations shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 9 (Provision of Return Gifts) |
| (1) | A local government may provide a donor with goods or economic benefits (hereinafter referred to as "return gift") to the extent not exceeding the limit prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| (2) | A return gift provided under paragraph (1) shall be any of the following: |
| 1. | Goods produced and manufactured in the jurisdiction of the relevant local government, such as local specialties; |
| 2. | Securities, such as gift certificates issued by a local government to be used only in the jurisdiction of the local government; |
| 3. | Others prescribed by municipal ordinance, which can contribute to the invigoration of the relevant local economy, etc. |
| (3) | A local government shall not provide any of the following as a return gift: |
| 2. | Expensive precious metal and jewelry; |
| 3. | Securities, such as gift certificates which do not fall under paragraph (2) 2; |
| 4. | Others prescribed by Presidential Decree, which do not contribute to the invigoration of local economies. |
| Article 10 (Reporting on Violations and Protection of Reporting Persons) |
| (1) | Any person may file a report on, or an accusation against, any of the following persons with the relevant administrative or investigative agency: |
| 1. | A person who makes hometown love donations, in violation of Article 5 (1) or (2); |
| 2. | A person who forces, or actively asks or encourages, other persons to make or collect hometown love donations, in violation of Article 6 (1) or (2); |
| 3. | A person who collects hometown love donations using methods not prescribed in this Act, in violation of Article 7; |
| 4. | A person who receives hometown love donations at a place other than public places, in violation of Article 8 (1); |
| 5. | A person who provides a return gift, in violation of Article 9 (1) or (3). |
| (2) | No person shall take disadvantageous measures (referring to the disadvantageous measures defined in subparagraph 6 of Article 2 of the Public Interest Whistleblower Protection Act) against a person who has filed a report or an accusation under paragraph (1) on the grounds of such report or accusation. |
| Article 11 (Establishment of Hometown Love Funds) |
| (1) | A local government shall establish a fund to efficiently manage and operate the hometown love donations collected or received. |
| (2) | A fund established under paragraph (1) (hereinafter referred to as "hometown love fund") shall be created with hometown love donations, and such fund shall be used only for any of the following purposes except when it is appropriated for expenses incurred in the collection and operation of such donations pursuant to paragraph (3): |
| 1. | Supporting socially vulnerable groups and fostering and protecting youth; |
| 2. | Promoting cultures, art, public health, etc. for local residents; |
| 3. | Supporting the revitalization of local communities, such as citizens' participation and volunteer work; |
| 4. | Implementing other projects necessary to promote the welfare of residents. |
| (3) | A local government may appropriate part of its hometown love fund (limited to an amount not exceeding the percentage prescribed by Presidential Decree within 15/100 of the amount of hometown love donations in the preceding year) for expenses incurred in the collection, operation, etc. of such donations. |
| (4) | Details necessary for the management, operation, etc. of hometown love funds under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be prescribed by ordinance of a local government, as prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 12 (Research on and Support for Systems) |
| (1) | The Minister of the Interior and Safety and the head of a local government shall endeavor to promote donations by conducting periodic surveys, analyses, research, etc. regarding the hometown love donation system. |
| (2) | Where necessary to support affairs related to the collection and receipt of hometown love donations and the provision, etc. of return gifts and to offer information thereon, the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the head of a local government may establish and operate an information system. |
| (3) | The Minister of the Interior and Safety and the head of a local government may entrust the establishment and operation of the information system under paragraph (2) to a related specialized institution, as prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 13 (Duty to Disclose Results) |
A local government shall disclose the current status of hometown love donations received, the results of the operation of its hometown love fund, and other matters, as prescribed by Presidential Decree.
| Article 14 (Return of Illegal Hometown Love Donations) |
| (1) | A local government shall return hometown love donations to donors and retrieve the receipts issued, in any of the following cases: |
| 1. | Where it receives hometown love donations from its residents, in violation of Article 4 (1); |
| 2. | Where a local government excluded from collecting entities under Article 4 (2) receives hometown love donations; |
| 3. | Where a donor makes hometown love donations, in violation of Article 5 (1) or (2); |
| 4. | Where it forces, or actively asks or encourages, a person to make hometown love donations, in violation of Article 6 (1) or (2); |
| 5. | Where it collects hometown love donations using methods not prescribed in this Act, in violation of Article 7; |
| 6. | Where it receives hometown love donations at a place other than public places, in violation of Article 8 (1); |
| 7. | Where it provides a return gift, in violation of Article 9 (1) or (3). |
| (2) | Donations to be returned under paragraph (1) 1 through 6 shall be the amount excluding the value of a return gift. |
| Article 15 (Guidance and Supervision) |
| (1) | With regard to the collection of hometown love donations, the management and operation of hometown love funds, and other matters, the Minister of the Interior and Safety may provide guidance or supervision, or recommend corrective measures, to local governments, or may request them to take other necessary actions. |
| (2) | A local government shall comply with the guidance, supervision, recommendations for corrective measures, or requests for taking other necessary actions under paragraph (1), unless there is a compelling reason not to do so. |
| Article 16 (Publication of Violations) |
| (1) | Where a local government is restricted from collecting and receiving hometown love donations pursuant to Article 4 (2), the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the head of the relevant local government shall publish such fact. |
| (2) | Matters necessary for the methods and procedures for publication provided in paragraph (1) and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree. |
| Article 17 (Penalty Provisions) |
| (1) | A person who forces other persons to make or collect hometown love donations, in violation of Article 6 (1), shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won. |
| (2) | A public official who forces, or actively asks or encourages, a person to make or collect hometown love donations, in violation of Article 6 (2), shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding 30 million won. |
| (3) | A person who collects hometown love donations, in violation of Article 7 (1), shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding 10 million won. |
ADDENDUM <Act No. 18489, Oct. 19, 2021>
This Act shall enter into force on January 1, 2023.
ADDENDUM <Act No. 19156, Jan. 3, 2023>
This Act shall enter into force six months after the date of its promulgation.