Busan Office of Education Allocates Supplementary Budget of 1.2347 Trillion Won ... From Existing 4.8753 Trillion Won to 6.11 Trillion Won

Busan Metropolitan Office of Education.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education has submitted the first supplementary budget proposal for 2022, amounting to 6.11 trillion KRW, which is an increase of 1.2347 trillion KRW over the original budget of 4.8753 trillion KRW, to the Busan Metropolitan Council.

The revenue budget of 1.2347 trillion KRW includes ▲ 1.1748 trillion KRW from central government transfers, including general grants and special grants ▲ 10 billion KRW from local government transfers ▲ and 42.6 billion KRW from self-generated income.

The expenditure budget focuses on ▲ stable introduction of the 5th elected administration’s core policies ▲ educational recovery and establishment of a school safety net for school normalization ▲ strengthening school accountability management through expanded financial support ▲ preparing for future educational demands and securing fiscal soundness.

Among the increased budget, 23.3 billion KRW will be allocated to school normalization projects supporting students’ educational recovery, such as academic achievement improvement and character education.

It includes 800 million KRW for academic achievement assessments to gauge students’ learning ability, 900 million KRW for cultural and artistic experience activities to support emotional development in young children, and 300 million KRW for inter-school sports competitions to foster character education.

A total of 11 billion KRW is allocated for modernization of vocational education equipment at special schools, and 1.9 billion KRW for supporting on-site training for vocational high school students, totaling 11.8 billion KRW to strengthen student career and vocational education.

To continuously prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants and protect school health and student safety, 29.3 billion KRW has been budgeted.

For strengthening school quarantine, following 10 billion KRW in the first semester, an additional 9.2 billion KRW will be allocated in the second semester to ensure stable “normal attendance.”

A total of 20.1 billion KRW will also be provided for student safety, including 2.2 billion KRW for preventing traffic accidents in school zones, 1 billion KRW for disposal of expired chemicals in science labs, 400 million KRW for improving 3D printer lab environments, and 300 million KRW for disinfection services of children’s playground facilities.

To enhance autonomy and accountability in school operations, operating expenses of 20.7 billion KRW will be expanded for all schools in the Busan area.

The Busan Office of Education has been increasing financial support to individual schools annually, and in this supplementary budget, it supports schools to independently carry out projects necessary for school normalization and priority issues.

To ensure sound management of local education finances, which fluctuate greatly depending on domestic and international economic conditions, and to stably promote large-scale mid- to long-term projects, a total of 1.124 trillion KRW will be reserved, including 240 billion KRW for the Education Informatization Fund, 214 billion KRW for the Education Facility Environment Improvement Fund, and 670 billion KRW for the Integrated Education Finance Stabilization Fund.

The reserves are measures to secure continuity for future education in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, to stably promote large-scale facility projects such as Green Smart Future Schools, and to ensure the soundness of education finances.

Additionally, amid recent rapid price increases, 5.8 billion KRW has been increased in meal expenses in cooperation with Busan City to provide high-quality meals to students, and 20.8 billion KRW has been additionally allocated to expand digital-based education support to lower grades in elementary schools.

A representative of the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education explained, “The supplementary budget actively reflects projects that lay the foundation for the 5th elected administration’s core pledges such as academic achievement improvement, projects for educational recovery and school normalization, and focuses on creating mid- to long-term future education infrastructure and securing stable momentum for Busan’s education policies.”

The supplementary budget proposal is scheduled to be reviewed and approved at the 308th Busan Metropolitan Council extraordinary session, held from August 26 to September 5, before final confirmation.