Gyeonggi-do Secures Record-High National Funding... Local Currency and GTX Projects Progressing Smoothly

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (right) is warmly shaking hands ahead of a meeting with Seo Sam-seok, Chairman of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, last November.

Gyeonggi Province has secured 18.5638 trillion KRW in national funding for next year. This is the largest amount ever, increasing by 752.8 billion KRW from this year's 17.811 trillion KRW.

On the 25th, Gyeonggi Province announced that after analyzing the revised 2024 government budget bill recently passed by the National Assembly plenary session, it was confirmed that a budget of 18.5638 trillion KRW had been secured.

Looking at the major projects' national funding budget, the welfare sector budget supporting low-income and socially vulnerable groups increased by 1.2996 trillion KRW from 11.6912 trillion KRW this year to 13 trillion KRW next year. Representative projects include ▲Basic Pension 3.7818 trillion KRW ▲Infant Care Fees and Parental Allowance 1.8548 trillion KRW ▲Livelihood Benefits 1.3473 trillion KRW, among others.

In the social overhead capital (SOC) sector such as transportation, the budget is 3.5136 trillion KRW, slightly down from this year's secured amount of 3.8093 trillion KRW. However, considering that some budget decreased due to the completion and progress rate of existing projects, there is expected to be no major issues in project implementation.

Representative projects include ▲Metropolitan Area Express Railway Line A (Paju~Samsung~Dongtan) 180.5 billion KRW ▲Indeokwon~Dongtan double-track railway 139.9 billion KRW ▲Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Road (Gimpo~Paju~Pocheon) Highway 270.7 billion KRW ▲Pyeongtaek~Buyeo (Western Inland) Private Highway 590.2 billion KRW, among others.

The 8 billion KRW operating budget for the Gyeonggi Social Service Agency, which was completely cut nationwide, and the 300 billion KRW budget for local currency (nationwide) were also increased, expected to contribute to the promotion of local community welfare and recovery of the livelihood economy.

Earlier, in February and March, Gyeonggi Province prepared a basic plan for securing national funding, selected and discovered major national projects, and continuously requested central government ministries. In June, it held a briefing session on major national projects for aides of Gyeonggi-area National Assembly members, followed by a budget policy meeting between the People Power Party and Gyeonggi·Incheon in July. Governor Kim Dong-yeon personally visited Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Choo Kyung-ho to request national funding support.

In August, Governor Kim Dong-yeon visited the National Assembly Budget Committee to hold a budget consultation meeting, actively promoting the Democratic Party-Gyeonggi Province budget policy meeting (September) and the opening of the National Funding Response Situation Room within the Central Cooperation Headquarters (October).

In particular, in October, during the national audit, Gyeonggi Province explained the importance of the national projects it submitted to the Budget Committee members who visited Gyeonggi Province and requested active support.

Furthermore, in November, First Deputy Governor Oh Byung-kwon, Economic Deputy Governor Yeom Tae-young, Planning and Coordination Office Chief, and Policy Planning Officer visited the National Assembly one after another. In December, Governor Kim Dong-yeon again visited the National Assembly to ask Seo Sam-seok, chairman of the National Assembly Budget Committee, for support for major national projects, making various efforts to secure national funding.

Thanks to these efforts, Gyeonggi Province secured an additional 106.1 billion KRW in national funding during the National Assembly budget review process, exceeding the original government budget proposal of 18.4577 trillion KRW.

Gyeonggi Province plans to use the increased 106.1 billion KRW for about 50 projects, including the metropolitan bus quasi-public operation system (16.8 billion KRW), temporary support for additional Gimpo urban railway trains (4.6 billion KRW), social overhead capital (SOC) and transportation sectors such as the Suwon-origin KTX direct connection project (31.5 billion KRW), the Open Innovation Digital Open Lab construction project reduced due to government R&D budget cuts (1 billion KRW), regional industry customized job creation support project (1.5 billion KRW), and public sewage treatment facility expansion and (aged) sewage pipeline maintenance projects (12.5 billion KRW).

Lee Hee-jun, Director of Planning and Coordination Office of Gyeonggi Province, promised, "We will do our best to promptly execute the national funding secured with difficulty in the right places so that residents can feel the effects through project implementation."