Gwangyang City Council Passes Resolution to Fully Cut Disaster Living Expenses of Approximately 26 Billion Won

Emergency Lawmaker Meeting Held on the 13th to Discuss Solutions for Resolving Citizen Conflicts

Proposal to Amend 'Disaster Living Expenses Payment' Rejected by Gwangyang City

[Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Heo Seonsik] The Gwangyang City Council in Jeollanam-do held an emergency council members' meeting on the 13th in the city council consultation room to discuss solutions for resolving citizen conflicts and community division caused by the ‘Emergency Disaster Living Expenses for Children and Adolescents.’

The meeting was urgently convened to find a resolution for the Emergency Disaster Living Expenses for Children and Adolescents through a full council members' meeting, after the Budget and Accounts Special Committee postponed its decision on the 2nd supplementary budget bill following opinions raised by committee members during the review process the previous day.

Jin Suhwa, Chairperson of the Gwangyang City Council, mentioned the current issues faced by the council and opened the discussion by saying, “Since the Budget and Accounts Committee requested an emergency council members' meeting even to the extent of postponing the approval of the supplementary budget bill, I hope that many council members will unite their intentions and carefully consider the optimal solution.”

Park Noshin, Chairperson of the Budget and Accounts Committee, appealed to the seriousness of the issue, stating, “We have been receiving an overwhelming number of phone calls and text complaints from various citizen groups such as small business owners, university students, youth about to enter the workforce, and farmers. The city council is now at a point where it must deliberate carefully for the sake of the local community.”

The council members attending the meeting pointed out several problems with the Emergency Disaster Living Expenses budget for children and adolescents, including ▲ the Gwangyang mayor announcing the payment plan before the city council’s budget review, ▲ no prior consultation with the city council during the budget formulation process, and ▲ the selection of recipients without sufficient communication with citizens.

The members also raised their voices, emphasizing that at a time when citizens are in conflict and local sentiment is divided, it is the minimum responsibility of the city council to resolve and mend these issues, and that Gwangyang City and the Gwangyang City Council exist for the happiness of the citizens.

On that day, the city council conveyed to Deputy Mayor Kim Kyungho, who attended the meeting, their intention to revise the Emergency Disaster Living Expenses for Children and Adolescents by increasing the budget to cover all citizens, and requested the executive agency to consider other solutions and inform whether they agree.

However, Gwangyang City communicated to the city council that it could not agree to increase the budget for the Emergency Disaster Living Expenses, and ultimately, the Budget and Accounts Committee resolved to completely cut the entire 26.06 billion KRW budget for the Emergency Disaster Living Expenses for Children and Adolescents.

The Budget and Accounts Committee of the Gwangyang City Council concluded all proceedings by submitting a supplementary opinion to the executive agency, stating, “Regarding the internally reserved funds that were cut, please actively prepare appropriate measures that all citizens can agree upon.”

Gwangyang = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Heo Seonsik hss79@asiae.co.kr