Geumcheon-gu Prepares 2021 Budget of 545.7 Billion Won for Post-Corona Era

Budget Increased by 17.7 Billion KRW (3.37%) to 545.7 Billion KRW Compared to 2020, Submitted to District Council on the 16th...Active and Strategic Budgeting for COVID-19 Response and Regional Economic Growth...Focused Investment in Community Safety Nets, Resident-Centered Education, Culture, and Green SOC...Daily Household Waste Collection System to be Implemented from Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yu Seong-hoon) has prepared the 2021 budget proposal at 545.7 billion KRW and submitted it to the Geumcheon-gu Council on the 16th.

This budget proposal was formulated with a primary focus on ‘reviving the local economy’ through proactive financial management and ‘establishing a community safety net’ for residents exhausted by COVID-19.

The revenue sources increased by 3.37% compared to 2020, including property tax of 105 billion KRW (an increase of 12.3 billion KRW due to the actualization of real estate official prices), non-tax revenue of 40 billion KRW, and national and city subsidies of 239.1 billion KRW.

By sector, the social welfare budget increased by 4.3% (11.5 billion KRW) from this year to 279.3 billion KRW, accounting for 52.4% of the total budget. The education sector increased by more than 50% for two consecutive years to 12.7 billion KRW, and the public order and safety sector increased by 34.84% (800 million KRW) to 3.2 billion KRW.

In particular, the environment sector allocated a total of about 29 billion KRW, including 12.8 billion KRW for the implementation of the daily collection system for household waste, which is closely related to residents’ daily lives.

To prepare for COVID-19 response and the implementation costs of the daily household waste collection system, the general public administration sector was reduced by 1.09% compared to this year.

Through the 2021 budget operation, the district aims to revitalize the stagnant local economy and realize a happy city, Geumcheon, by improving residents’ quality of life through focused investment in key projects of the 7th local government term, including ▲COVID-19 response and proactive preparation for the post-COVID-19 era ▲strengthening the community safety net ▲expanding resident-experienced living SOC.

COVID-19 Response and Proactive Preparation for the Post-COVID-19 Era

First, the budget actively reflects ‘support for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners’ and expands ‘local job projects’ to restore the dynamism of the local economy, which has been stagnated due to COVID-19.

To this end, the district will promote ▲issuance of Geumcheon-gu mobile local currency (3.5 billion KRW) ▲support for small and medium enterprises (1.3 billion KRW) ▲support projects for small business owners including revitalization of traditional markets (1.96 billion KRW) ▲local quarantine job projects (580 million KRW) ▲senior job and social activity support projects (9.8 billion KRW) ▲operation of Geumcheon Senior Club (370 million KRW), among others.

Strengthening the Community Safety Net

The district plans to strengthen the community safety net through ‘strengthening social safety nets for vulnerable groups,’ ‘preparing for low birthrate and aging,’ and ‘enhancing response capabilities for infectious diseases and fine dust.’

Accordingly, it allocated 57.1 billion KRW for welfare budgets for basic living security such as livelihood benefits and medical benefits, and 30.4 billion KRW for vulnerable group support budgets. To prepare for the aging era, the budget for senior citizen support increased by 10% (9.1 billion KRW) from the previous year to a total of 100.8 billion KRW.

Additionally, 16.1 billion KRW was allocated for building a social safety net for children and youth, including expansion of neighborhood care centers, opening of Doksan Youth Culture House, support for youth clubs and out-of-school youth, and meal support for children at risk of food insecurity.

Furthermore, the veterans support budget, including operation support for the Veterans Hall, increased by 12.7% (100 million KRW) to 890 million KRW, and 750 million KRW was allocated to strengthen the COVID-19 quarantine system such as screening clinics.

In particular, the environment sector budget increased by 24% (5.6 billion KRW) from the previous year to a total of about 29 billion KRW, covering operation of fine dust safe zones, inspection of air and noise emission facilities, and implementation of the daily household waste collection system.

Moreover, the district plans to strengthen prevention-centered living safety by investing in projects such as the construction of an underground public parking lot at Doksan 2-dong Village Park (10.9 billion KRW, including 9.6 billion KRW city funds), replacement of LED street and security lights (1.8 billion KRW), U-integrated safety city network project (1.5 billion KRW), and Geumcheon-type smart alley complex solution project (240 million KRW).

Focused Investment in Key Projects of the 7th Local Government Term Including Expansion of Resident-Experienced Living SOC

The district actively invests in budgets to complete key projects of the 7th local government term, such as expanding living SOC and green SOC that residents can directly experience.

Major projects include ▲construction of Siheung 5-dong Community Center (2.7 billion KRW) ▲construction of Geumcheon-gu Lifelong Learning Center (2.1 billion KRW) ▲Doksan Road undergrounding project (4.5 billion KRW) ▲construction of customer convenience facilities at Nammun Market (1.4 billion KRW) ▲construction of the district-run Geumju Daycare Center (850 million KRW) ▲creation and operation of Geumcheon-type Science Museum (700 million KRW) ▲construction of Geumcheon Career and Academic Support Center (600 million KRW) ▲creation of Saegil Science Playground (440 million KRW) ▲creation of Siheung Haenggung Exhibition Hall (690 million KRW) ▲environmental improvement project of Doksan Neighborhood Park (1.25 billion KRW) ▲creation of water play-type children’s playground (800 million KRW), among others.

Along with this, to prepare for the post-COVID-19 era, the district plans to promote non-face-to-face industry development through projects such as ▲creating a non-face-to-face shopping environment in traditional markets (100 million KRW) ▲expanding untact smart parking management systems (260 million KRW) ▲installation of smart libraries (150 million KRW) ▲operation of smart parking communities to solve parking problems in multi-family housing (50 million KRW) ▲Dream Full Youth Delivery (20 million KRW).

Meanwhile, the Geumcheon-gu 2021 budget proposal is expected to be finalized at the plenary session on December 17 after review by the district council.

Yu Seong-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, “We will focus on actively and strategically managing finances in 2021 to actively respond to COVID-19 and restore the dynamism of the local economy in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era. Along with this, we will do our best to solve local issues and improve residents’ quality of life by completing investment projects of the 7th local government term.”