Jeongeup-si Submits 'Next Year's Budget Proposal of 1.1048 Trillion Won' to City Council

Jeongeup City in Jeollabuk-do has submitted the 2024 budget proposal to the Jeongeup City Council to improve citizens' quality of life and lay the foundation for future growth engines.

According to the city on the 17th, the 2024 main budget was organized at 1.1048 trillion KRW, a 1.3% decrease from the 2023 main budget of 1.1193 trillion KRW.

This is a decrease of 14.5 billion KRW compared to this year, with the general account at 1.0293 trillion KRW and the special account at 75.5 billion KRW.

Jeongeup City has submitted the next year's budget proposal to the Jeongeup City Council to improve the quality of life for its citizens and establish a foundation for future growth engines.
[Photo by Jeongeup City]

Of the general account revenue budget of 1.0293 trillion KRW, local taxes and non-tax revenues, which are self-generated resources, increased by 0.9% from 99.6 billion KRW this year to 100.5 billion KRW, while local allocation tax, a dependent resource, decreased by 29.4 billion KRW from 482.8 billion KRW to 453.4 billion KRW.

Adjustment grants were set at 24 billion KRW, and national and provincial subsidies increased by 37 billion KRW from 374.3 billion KRW to 411.3 billion KRW.

The city explained that the expenditure budget was organized to ensure efficient financial management within limited resources by allocating funds focusing on urgent current issues such as job creation and regional economic revitalization, as well as key administrative projects.

Next year’s economic revitalization projects include ▲ issuance of Jeongeup Love Gift Certificates worth 60 billion KRW ▲ expansion of the Jeongeup-type public delivery app ‘WEMAKEPRICE O’ with a budget of 290 million KRW ▲ Saemgoeul Jeongdaun Commercial District revitalization project with a total project cost of 8 billion KRW by 2027 ▲ support project for small business owners’ card fees with 652 million KRW.

Additionally, the housing loan interest support project has expanded its target from newlyweds to youth and increased support from 1% up to 1 million KRW over 5 years to 2% up to 3 million KRW over 10 years, providing youth with a stable residential environment and laying the foundation for settling in Jeongeup.

For the creation of an advanced agro-biotech industrial city, the budget includes ▲ 20.7 billion KRW for the construction of shared infrastructure for agricultural and livestock microorganisms ▲ 18 billion KRW for the establishment of a pharmaceutical industry future workforce training center ▲ 7.1 billion KRW for a regional innovation mega-project to build an ecosystem for the new healthcare industry for companion animals.

Also included are ▲ 3.5 billion KRW for the construction of a healing agriculture center ▲ 1.03 billion KRW for a special resource convergence technology support project ▲ 7.3 billion KRW invested by 2025 in the Rural New Vitality Plus project to create an innovation space sharing center, enabling rural areas to become self-reliant and grow.

To create a culture and tourism city leading the era, the budget includes ▲ 100 million KRW for a feasibility study and research service for the restoration of Gobu Gwana ▲ 32.9 billion KRW for the construction of Jeongeup Cultural Heritage Visitor Center, extreme sports facilities, and a fairy tale village themed space ▲ 4 billion KRW for a tourism hotspot creation project linking Jeongeupcheon Stream and Jeongeup Station.

Projects to build a welfare city satisfying citizens include ▲ 2.7 billion KRW for free vaccinations against infectious diseases such as shingles, pneumonia, and influenza for vulnerable elderly populations ▲ 5.38 billion KRW from the Local Extinction Response Fund for the establishment of a pediatric outpatient center with a children’s exclusive ward in the southwest region and a public postpartum care center.

Urban infrastructure expansion projects include ▲ 12.1 billion KRW for installing supply pipelines in areas without city gas supply ▲ 9.2 billion KRW for the creation of five public parking lots including downtown parking towers ▲ 8.2 billion KRW for the Jangmyeong District Our Neighborhood Revitalization project ▲ 280 million KRW for smart city planning research ▲ 55 billion KRW for the construction of Jeongeup Sports Town, sports training center, and Hwangtohyeon soccer field.

In addition, to realize communication administration that empathizes and engages with citizens, the city plans to open an online citizen communication platform and operate an AI-based chatbot service.

Mayor Lee Hak-su said, “The budget proposal submitted to the council contains comprehensive considerations on how to reasonably operate city administration amid uncertain current circumstances,” adding, “We will continue to strengthen the management of local subsidy projects and do our best to ensure that citizens’ tax money is used appropriately.”

Meanwhile, the submitted budget proposal will be finalized on the 14th of next month after review at the 2nd regular meeting of the Jeongeup City Council.

Jeongeup = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Jae-gil baekok@asiae.co.kr