"Overcoming COVID-19" Busan City Executes Record Early Fiscal Spending in First Half of the Year

Record High Target of 8.0686 Trillion Won for H1 2021 Rapid Execution

5.2% Above Government Goal Rate of 60% ... Rapid Execution Task Force Formed

Panoramic view of Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan City (Acting Mayor Lee Byung-jin) has decided to swiftly execute a budget of 8.0686 trillion won in the first half of the year to overcome the damages caused by COVID-19 early and revitalize the stagnant local economy.

The execution target amount for the first half is the largest ever, accounting for 65.2% of the budgets for various SOC projects and other projects requiring prompt execution promoted by the city hall, districts/counties, and public enterprises.

Considering the difficulties of the local economic situation, this is 5.2% higher than the government target rate of 60%.

Busan City will form a Rapid Execution Promotion Team led by Planning and Coordination Office Chief Kim Seon-jo. They plan to establish a close collaboration system among budget, funds, and execution departments and provide pre-consulting on ways to increase the execution rate, such as checking the fulfillment of preliminary procedures for large-scale investment projects and early groundbreaking by each institution.

On February 1, Busan City delivered the promotion plan at an expanded executive meeting attended by heads of offices, bureaus, headquarters, deputy heads of districts/counties, and heads of public enterprises, and plans to hold a meeting on February 22 to review execution plans by institution and office.

Acting Mayor Lee Byung-jin said, “We recognize the difficult local economic situation seriously and will mobilize all administrative power for early financial execution so that the budget can serve as a catalyst for local economic recovery.”

As of the end of last year, Busan City executed 25.7693 trillion won out of a budget of 27.7135 trillion won, achieving an execution rate of 92.98%, ranking first among metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide.