Jinju-si, Next Year's Main Budget Set at 1.8418 Trillion Won

Restructuring Key Projects of the 8th Local Government Term with a Sound Fiscal Policy
Focus on Protecting Vulnerable Groups Including Establishment of AAV Demonstration Center

On the 21st, Jinju City in Gyeongnam submitted the '2024 Budget Proposal' to the City Council.

The total amount is 1.8418 trillion KRW (1.4917 trillion KRW in the general account and 350.1 billion KRW in the special account), which is a decrease of 128.9 billion KRW, or 6.54%, compared to the 2023 original budget.

Next year, due to limited financial capacity compared to this year, Jinju City has reexamined the key priority projects of the 8th elected administration from the ground up to reduce unnecessary expenditures and has also made efforts to cut rigid expenses such as office management costs, travel expenses, and business promotion expenses.

At the 1st plenary session of the 252nd Jinju City Council held that day, Mayor Cho Gyu-il, delivering the city administration speech, requested the active cooperation of the City Council and the approval of the budget proposal as originally submitted to provide some hope to citizens facing economic difficulties, and repeatedly urged the Jinju City Council to join forces to overcome the complex crisis at hand.

He also self-assessed that despite various difficulties, many administrative achievements were made this year thanks to the support of the citizens.

Mayor Jo Gyu-il is delivering the city administration speech at the 1st plenary session of the 252nd Jinju City Council.

Looking at the economic achievements, the Munsan area was selected as a public housing district by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in June, proactively securing sites to attract aerospace-related administrative agencies, excellent companies, and research institutes. At the end of August, the KAI rotary-wing flight center began construction in the Gasan industrial complex in Ibansung-myeon.

The global expansion efforts of Jinju K-Entrepreneurship also stood out. In June, at the UN Headquarters during the UN Small and Medium Enterprises Day event, Mayor Cho Gyu-il gave a keynote speech on Jinju K-Entrepreneurship. In July, the Jinju K-Entrepreneurship Foundation was launched, and the 1st K-Entrepreneurship Jinju International Forum was held.

There was also much success in awards following last year. Jinju ranked first for two consecutive years in the Gyeongsangnam-do major task joint evaluation and received the Minister’s Award in this year’s city awards, marking four consecutive years of recognition. The Namgang Lantern Festival received the 2023 Regional Culture Award, and the 2023 Jinju Asia Weightlifting Championships, held on the largest scale ever, was successfully conducted.

Various infrastructure expansions are also noteworthy. The Modeok Sports Park opened a cultural and sports center for the disabled, and the social welfare facility Hongrakwon was opened in Munsan-eup. To improve agricultural convenience, a rural labor support center and an eastern agricultural machinery rental office were also established.

Additionally, Jinju was consecutively designated as an age-friendly city and a child-friendly city, laying the foundation for a city where both the elderly and children can be happy. It was the first in Gyeongnam to provide pregnancy congratulatory funds, and the Hamo Early Childhood Sports Team was also launched. Seven townships including Munsan-eup and Geumsan-myeon were selected for rural agreement projects, and various allowances for national veterans were significantly increased.

Since September, transportation convenience has been improved through the operation of the SRT bound for Suseo, road expansion between Gyeongsang National University and Naedong, and the construction of a road between Geumsan Samgeori and Provincial Road 1009.

The Sangpyeong Industrial Complex Innovation Support Center and the Gyeongnam Jinju Innovation City Complex Innovation Center were completed, with the Complex Innovation Center establishing a startup innovation hub for nurturing young CEOs. Notably, Jinju was consecutively selected for the Green Start Uptown Project and the Green Bio Venture Campus Project, strengthening startup infrastructure for local youth. An online youth platform providing various youth policies in a one-stop service was also launched earlier this year.

In cultural achievements, the Namgaram Cultural and Arts Special Zone was designated, the Railroad Culture Park and Namgang Lantern Exhibition Hall were created, and the restoration of Jungyeong elevated the dignity of Jinju’s 1,300-year history.

Furthermore, from July to November, the Wolasan Garden Expo, the Flow of Korean Color Painting II, and the Jinju Traditional Craft Biennale were held sequentially, presenting high-quality artworks to citizens.

Jinju City’s 2024 budget allocation by sector and major priority project plans are as follows: 74.7 billion KRW for youth support and regional economic restructuring; 80.7 billion KRW for culture, tourism, and sports; 186.3 billion KRW for childbirth, care, and education; 495 billion KRW for social welfare and health; 156 billion KRW for creating a hopeful rural community; and 413 billion KRW for balanced urban development and creating a pleasant environment.

Mayor Cho stated, “We will use the precious budget, which citizens have worked hard to prepare, frugally and carefully to improve citizens’ lives.” He expressed his ambition to achieve the third miracle leading the world toward a ‘prosperous Jinju and happy citizens,’ following the first miracle of defending the country at the Battle of Jinju and the second miracle of giving birth to Samsung, LG, GS, and Hyosung, which led Korea’s economic development, together with the citizens of Jinju, concluding the 2024 city administration speech.

Meanwhile, the budget proposal submitted by Jinju City for next year will be reviewed during this regular session of the Jinju City Council and finalized at the 3rd plenary session on December 12.