Gwangjin District Council Holds Emergency Session to Deliberate Supplementary Budget for Emergency Disaster Relief Fund Payment

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Gwangjin District Council (Chairman Go Yang-seok) convened a special session from the 18th to the 19th to review the second supplementary budget proposal for 2020 submitted by Gwangjin District.

This special session was convened to promptly allocate and disburse the 'Emergency Disaster Relief Fund' to support the urgent livelihoods of residents suffering from the prolonged impact of COVID-19 and to stimulate consumption. Other essential pending projects for the first half of the year were also discussed.

On the morning of the 18th, following the opening ceremony, the council held the first plenary session to listen to the proposal explanation regarding the submission of the second supplementary budget. Subsequently, the Budget and Accounts Special Committee was formed, electing Assemblyman An Mun-hwan as chairman and Assemblywoman Jang Kyung-hee as vice-chairwoman.

The 2020 second supplementary budget proposal increased by 17.23 billion KRW from the original budget of 704.9 billion KRW to 722.1 billion KRW. To secure available funds for timely COVID-19 response and pending projects, the district submitted a supplementary budget totaling 20.15 billion KRW, consisting of 17.23 billion KRW in revenue budget (including surplus funds and city subsidies) and a reduction adjustment of 2.92 billion KRW from existing expenditure budgets.

Notably, major expenditure projects focused on revitalizing the local economy through emergency disaster relief payments and Gwangjin Love Gift Certificate paybacks. The budget also included funds for other pending projects such as district contributions for expanding public daycare centers.

Additionally, to secure available funds, expenditure restructuring was conducted on projects that were difficult to execute in the first half or had remaining balances, reducing 2.92 billion KRW to be used as resources for increased projects.

After deliberation by the Budget and Accounts Special Committee on the 18th, the council reduced 853 million KRW from two projects, including the 'Venture Startup Support Center Operation,' reallocating the entire amount to the general contingency fund. Other projects were approved as originally proposed.

The final supplementary budget was confirmed at the second plenary session on the 19th. The Gwangjin District Council had previously approved a first supplementary budget of approximately 20.1 billion KRW in March to overcome COVID-19.

Chairman Go Yang-seok of the Gwangjin District Council stated, “The council urgently convened this special session to ensure that the second supplementary budget can serve as a starting point for stabilizing the COVID-19 situation and transitioning to a new normal. We thoroughly reviewed the budget to benefit the residents and did our best.” He added, “We urge the executive branch to expedite budget execution to enhance the residents’ sense of impact.”