Gwangjin District Council Approves 22.7 Billion KRW Third Supplementary Budget Proposal as Originally Submitted

Designated Operation of Gwangjin-type Safe Restaurants with 90 Million KRW for Infectious Disease Prevention Budget, 410 Million KRW for Additional Issuance and Payback Expansion of Mobile Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates, Focusing on Local Economy Revitalization Budget and Resident Welfare Improvement Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Gwangjin District Council (Chairperson Park Sam-rye) held the 2nd plenary session of the 238th extraordinary meeting on the 1st and finally approved the original draft of the 3rd supplementary budget for 2020 amounting to 22.7 billion KRW.

The council especially recognized that this supplementary budget is an essential fund for the recovery of the local economy and the improvement of residents' quality of life amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the purpose of the 3rd supplementary budget, the council conducted a thorough review, promptly passed the budget, and concluded the schedule of the 238th extraordinary meeting.

The supplementary budget was composed mainly of additional general adjustment grants, national and city subsidies, and unspent balances from the 2019 fiscal year’s national and city subsidies. It was designed to promote consumption within the depressed local economy and support vulnerable groups to facilitate the transition to the post-COVID era.

Key projects included in the supplementary budget are 90 million KRW for designating and operating Gwangjin-style Safe Restaurants related to infectious disease prevention, 410 million KRW for additional issuance and expanded payback of mobile Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates to revitalize the local economy, and 710 million KRW for land acquisition to build small-scale, community-based senior welfare centers supporting vulnerable groups.

Additionally, 100 million KRW was allocated for research on content development and long-term development plans around Achasan Mountain to promote regional development. Safety budgets included 840 million KRW for establishing an intelligent selective surveillance system to eliminate CCTV blind spots and 240 million KRW for improving pedestrian environments around elementary schools.

Furthermore, a budget of 100 million KRW was reflected for a clean environment, including the production and attachment of adsorption filters to reduce fine dust.

Jang Gil-cheon, Chairperson of the Budget and Accounts Special Committee, stated, “As the difficulties of the 350,000 Gwangjin residents increase amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing economic recession, we have united with fellow senior committee members to approve the supplementary budget as originally proposed to stabilize residents’ lives. We urge the executive branch to keep in mind the points raised during budget review and, considering the urgency required for the supplementary budget, to thoroughly manage projects to ensure timely execution of the budget.”

Chairperson Park Sam-rye promised, “With the swift processing of this third supplementary budget, I hope it will help overcome the difficulties caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and bring practical improvements to residents’ lives. The Gwangjin District Council will also proactively respond to overcome the current challenges.”