The confrontation between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the central government over the municipality’s cash subsidy program for young jobless people offer a few things to ponder.  

First, would it be effective to improve the life of the nation’s young people who are struggling with the toughest job market in decades? The answer should be negative.

The plan devised by Mayor Park Won-soon calls for the city government to provide a monthly cash subsidy of 500,000 won ($450) to 3,000 unemployed people aged 19-29 for up to six months.

A program like this raises basic questions about, among other things, who to select and how to make sure the money is spent properly. City officials argue that the selection process is fair and transparent and that recipients will be required to submit receipts and a report on how they used the stipend. 

But we already know such a direct payment program has many loopholes. One need look no further than the case of Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province, where another liberal mayor handed out vouchers worth 1 million won to young residents.

Some of the vouchers - given to young residents regardless of their income - were being traded - at a discount price - on the Internet as soon as they were put into the hands of the beneficiaries.

Another questionable point is that the number of people benefiting from the cash payment program in Seoul and Seongnam account for only a small portion of unemployed youths.

For instance, there are about 1.44 million people in the 19-29 age group in Seoul alone, and at least 500,000 of them are eligible for the city’s youth jobless subsidy program.

Providing a temporary relief fund to only 3,000 of them will never be able to improve the youth unemployment problem, and those who are denied the benefit will only feel deprivation. And think about large amount of youths in other cities and provinces, whose governments are far poorer than Seoul and Seongnam, which cannot afford any substantial support for their employment.   

Mayor Park, a strong potential presidential candidate for the liberal camp, unilaterally paid the first installment of a cash subsidy to about 2,800 people last week in defiance of the Health and Welfare Ministry’s opposition. He must have expected that the ministry would immediately invoke its authority to halt the unauthorized plan and order city authorities to retrieve the money under the pertinent laws.

Now Seoul officials say they will take the case to the court. The consequence of this deplorable standoff is that the 2,813 people who received 500,000 won through bank transfer are at a loss over what to do with the money.

Young generations angered by the lack of decent jobs, difficulties in making enough money for housing, marriage and childcare and the growing polarization of problems, already call their country “hell.” Politicians and officials are only fueling their anger and frustrations.