Gwanak-gu, 2023 Budget Totaling 971.5 Billion Won Allocated

[Seoul District News] Gwanak-gu Allocates 971.5 Billion Won, a 7.3% Increase from Last Year, with Balanced Investment Efforts in Economy, Jobs, Youth, Single-Person Households, Culture, and Welfare

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) has prepared a budget of 971.5 billion KRW for 2023 and submitted it to the Gwanak-gu Council.

This is an increase of 65.8 billion KRW compared to this year, consisting of 954.9 billion KRW in the general account and 16.6 billion KRW in the special account.

Despite difficult financial conditions, the district plans to make balanced investments across all areas of administration to realize the six major goals of the 8th elected term: economy, welfare, youth, education, safety, and innovation.

In the economy and employment sector, a total of 13.1 billion KRW will be invested to provide steady support for livelihood recovery, overcome the employment crisis, and revitalize the stagnant commercial districts. Investments include ▲Ganggamchan Gwanak-style jobs and other public job projects (3 billion KRW) ▲Startup fund (1 billion KRW) and Gwanak S Valley 2.0 project (2.2 billion KRW) ▲Artterior project (600 million KRW) ▲Creation of representative commercial districts by region (500 million KRW) ▲Issuance of Gwanak Love gift certificates (1.4 billion KRW) ▲Support for revitalizing traditional markets (1.7 billion KRW).

The social welfare budget accounts for the largest portion at 56.9%, with 552.4 billion KRW allocated, an increase of 51.4 billion KRW from this year to meet the growing welfare demand. Support will be provided without hesitation to eliminate welfare blind spots through projects such as ▲Construction of Gwanak Cultural Welfare Town (5.6 billion KRW) ▲Basic pension (180 billion KRW) ▲Senior job and social activity support (13.5 billion KRW) ▲Livelihood and housing benefits (122.4 billion KRW) ▲Childcare support projects (3.2 billion KRW).

Especially, as the city with the highest youth population, 14 billion KRW will be invested in over 40 diverse youth support projects ranging from youth jobs and housing to education and culture. The 40 or so customized support policies for single-person households implemented this year will also be expanded with a 12% increase to 6.5 billion KRW compared to last year.

In the education and culture sector, a total of 44.8 billion KRW has been allocated to build an educational foundation and support educationally marginalized groups, including ▲Education expenses (8 billion KRW) ▲Support for eco-friendly school meals (5.3 billion KRW) and to enable enjoyment of various cultural, artistic, and sports activities through ▲Operation of Gwanak Cultural Foundation (11.8 billion KRW) ▲Support for residents' sports competitions (200 million KRW).

Additionally, 125.9 billion KRW, accounting for 13% of the total budget, will be invested to establish safe living environments. Prioritizing residents' safety, the district plans to focus on projects such as ▲Enrollment in residents' safety insurance and installation support for openable security windows in semi-basement houses (1 billion KRW) ▲Creation of disaster management funds (3 billion KRW) to prevent wind and flood damage that caused significant harm to residents this year.

Alongside this, efforts will focus on resolving inconveniences closely related to residents' daily lives, including ▲Cleaning and environmental sector (56.5 billion KRW) ▲Relocation of utility poles causing traffic inconvenience (400 million KRW) ▲Maintenance of children's parks (1.2 billion KRW) ▲Public parking lot projects (4.8 billion KRW).

A total of 20.2 billion KRW has been allocated to the health and hygiene sector. The district will continue to promote basic health management projects for residents such as ▲National vaccinations (5.1 billion KRW) ▲Maternal and newborn health care (1.4 billion KRW).

A district official stated, “Despite difficult circumstances, we have devoted great effort to prepare a balanced budget covering economy, welfare, youth, education, and safety to meet the diverse administrative needs of residents. We will do our best to ensure that residents can feel the effects through thorough investment and sound budget management across all sectors.”