What Is the Secret Behind Seocho-gu Securing 470.4 Billion Won in External Funding in 2020?

Steady Increase Since 2017, 2020 Public Project Funding Secured 2.6 Times More Than 2019... Notable Awards Including 9.8 Billion KRW for Saenghwal SOC Seocho Complex Welfare Town and GTX Station Transfer Center Public Project Excellence

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu announced that it actively participated in external agency evaluations and public project competitions throughout 2020, securing a total of 470.4 billion KRW in external funding.

This achievement was made despite the difficult circumstances caused by the significant reduction in various external evaluations and public project competitions due to COVID-19 last year.

The 470.4 billion KRW secured by the district in 2020 was composed of detailed funds including ▲public project competitions (56 cases, 22 billion KRW) ▲special grants (49 cases, 6.5 billion KRW) ▲special local taxes (11 cases, 2.6 billion KRW) ▲external agency evaluation awards (41 cases, 1 billion KRW) ▲reallocated funds such as comprehensive project expenses (452 cases, 438.3 billion KRW).

In particular, this achievement is the result of continuous efforts since the 6th local government term to additionally secure public project funds, with the amount steadily increasing. It rose from 3.3 billion KRW in 2017 to 5.5 billion KRW in 2018, then to 8 billion KRW in 2019, and in 2020, the district was selected for a total of 56 public projects securing 22 billion KRW, a 2.6-fold increase compared to 2019.

The district’s administrative philosophy, which has pursued six major policy goals reflecting residents’ desires, needs, and opinions for the 7th local government term’s “Exciting Change, Green Seocho,” was also highly evaluated externally.

The district plans to continuously strive to reduce its own budget, alleviate tax burdens, and operate its budget efficiently by increasing the acquisition of external funds.

Looking at award cases, the proposal for the “Seocho Complex Welfare Town Construction” project received 9.8 billion KRW, the largest single project nationwide in the living SOC (social overhead capital) sector, and won the highest award in the GTX station transfer center public project competition, with partial support for related design costs expected.

Meanwhile, in various government evaluations in 2020, the district received one Presidential Award, one Prime Minister Award, and ten Ministerial Awards. At the Government Innovation 1st Street hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Seocho-gu set an overwhelming record with a total of 77 innovation cases, winning first place (gold medal), and internationally, it was objectively recognized for administrative excellence by receiving the WHO Age-friendly City certification.

Park Woo-man, head of the Planning and Budget Division, stated, “With the social crisis caused by COVID-19 and the increased tax burden on residents due to various tax hikes, we will secure as much external funding as possible through excellent project proposals and outstanding policy evaluation awards to reduce residents’ tax burdens and further improve the quality of administration.”