Yangcheon-gu Increases Welfare Budget for Socially Vulnerable by 11% Despite Decrease in Revenue

10% Across-the-Board Cut in Business Promotion Expenses, 11.1% Increase in Welfare Budget Accounting for 57.91% Overall
Introduction of Laundry and Side Dish Services, Integration and Expansion of Housing Environment Improvement Welfare Projects
Strengthening Support for Out-of-School Public Education, Establishing Urban Safety Net and Balanced Public Infrastructure Including Integrated Control Center Operation

Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Lee Gi-jae) announced that it has submitted the 2024 budget proposal totaling 933.2 billion KRW, which expands the social welfare sector, to the Yangcheon-gu Council. The 2024 budget consists of 900.8 billion KRW in the general account and 32.4 billion KRW in the special account, marking a 2.7% increase compared to this year's original budget of 909.1 billion KRW, recording the lowest growth rate in the past 20 years.

Accordingly, the district focused on reducing unnecessary expenditures and concentrating and allocating the budget appropriately, while increasing the welfare budget for socially vulnerable groups by 11.1%.

In particular, anticipating a decrease in revenue next year due to the economic downturn, the district cut business promotion expenses by 10% across the board and saved the budget by allocating travel expenses based on execution performance, utilizing the savings for citizen support projects.

Furthermore, the district expanded budgets for projects whose effectiveness was verified through performance evaluations and feasibility analyses of existing projects, and boldly streamlined habitual projects to secure fiscal soundness.

The budget by major sectors shows that the ‘social welfare’ sector accounts for the largest share (57.91%) with 540.4 billion KRW, an increase of 54 billion KRW compared to the previous year. The ‘education’ sector was allocated 26.7 billion KRW, and the ‘public order and safety’ sector 7.5 billion KRW.

Other allocations include 36.7 billion KRW for ‘general public administration,’ 25.9 billion KRW for ‘culture and sports,’ 36.4 billion KRW for ‘environment,’ 24.1 billion KRW for ‘health,’ 7.5 billion KRW for ‘industry, small and medium enterprises, and energy,’ 37 billion KRW for ‘transportation and logistics,’ and 34.4 billion KRW for ‘land and regional development.’

Especially in difficult economic times, welfare support is strengthened to protect socially vulnerable groups who are more susceptible to crises. To improve the quality of life for housing-vulnerable individuals, the ‘Hope House Repair Project (260 million KRW)’ will be promoted by unifying housing environment improvement projects and expanding the support targets and scale. New initiatives such as the ‘Side Dish Voucher (250 million KRW)’ and ‘Laundry Service Support Project (50 million KRW)’ for vulnerable groups will be launched to implement customized welfare closely connected to daily life. The ‘Old Senior Center Facility Improvement Project (2.4 billion KRW)’ will continue to ensure that elderly welfare facilities suitable for the super-aged era are established throughout the region.

Strengthening ‘out-of-school public education support’ will enhance the brand value of Yangcheon as an educational special zone. The ‘Yangcheon Education Support Center (680 million KRW)’ will be established to provide one-stop support for learning, career, and college admission. The ‘Mokdong Future Education Center (170 million KRW)’ and ‘Neolbundeul Future Education Center (60 million KRW)’ will be newly created to provide easy access to advanced future education by region. In the Sinwol-dong area, which has been relatively neglected in lifelong education, the ‘Sinwol Lifelong Learning Center (230 million KRW)’ and ‘Sinwol-dong Regional Culture and Arts Hub Space (150 million KRW)’ will be operated. The ‘Y Education Expo (280 million KRW),’ which was attended by about 32,000 people this year, will be held as a nationwide event with enhanced content and scale.

Efforts will also be made to build a well-structured urban safety net. The largest integrated control center in Seoul, the ‘U-Yangcheon Integrated Control Center (1.49 billion KRW),’ which has completed its expansion and relocation, will be operated stably. Security facilities will be expanded, including closed-circuit television (800 million KRW), smart safety park lights (190 million KRW), and smart security lights (110 million KRW). To ensure safety on school routes, full support will be provided for ▲maintenance of old security light poles around schools (170 million KRW) ▲traffic safety guidance for children going to and from school (790 million KRW) ▲strengthening security on school routes (480 million KRW). To prepare for unexpected disasters and accidents in daily life, a new ‘Citizen Safety Insurance (820 million KRW)’ has also been included.

To realize a healthy and happy city that all citizens can enjoy together, projects such as ▲installation of tennis court roofs (1.65 billion KRW) ▲replacement of artificial turf and renovation of aging facilities at Haenuri Sports Park (1.59 billion KRW) ▲Yangcheon Marathon (190 million KRW) ▲operation of water play areas (280 million KRW) will be promoted.

To improve citizen convenience and administrative efficiency through balanced public infrastructure by region, budgets have been carefully allocated for ▲installation of village bus information terminals (420 million KRW) ▲Yangcheon-gu Childcare Town Living SOC Complex Project (10.36 billion KRW) ▲expansion and reorganization of the health center building (2.59 billion KRW) ▲operation of the temporary office in Sinjeong 2-dong (670 million KRW).

Additionally, to provide practical support to residents affected by airport noise, plans include support for hearing aids (100 million KRW) and Gimpo Airport usage fees (40 million KRW).

The 2024 budget proposal is expected to be finalized after review by the district council.

Lee Gi-jae, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, stated, “Despite difficult fiscal conditions, we have prepared a practical budget focused on projects with proven effectiveness based on meticulous performance analysis to implement administration that can increase citizen satisfaction.” He added, “Next year, we will spare no effort to ensure the core projects of the 8th elected administration proceed smoothly so that all citizens can feel the vision of ‘a city where people want to live, a livable Yangcheon.’”