Seoul City to Allocate 50 Billion Won for Next Year's Citizen Participation Budget... 'Walking Together with the Vulnerable'

Designated Proposal Type 20 Billion KRW · Free Proposal Type 30 Billion KRW

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has finalized the citizen participation budget for next year at 50 billion KRW, the same scale as this year, and is calling for project proposals.

On the 3rd, Seoul announced that 20 billion KRW will be allocated to designated proposals under the theme of "Walking Together with the Vulnerable," and 30 billion KRW will be allocated to free proposals for next year’s citizen participation budget. Proposals for citizen participation projects can be submitted online via the Seoul Citizen Participation Budget website or by mail/visit from the 4th to the 12th.

Accordingly, 20 billion KRW, which accounts for 40% of next year’s citizen participation budget, will be assigned to projects related to walking together with the vulnerable. The remaining 30 billion KRW will be allocated to free proposals covering all areas of city administration, the city explained.

The citizen participation budget system, which started in 2012 based on the Local Finance Act, allows citizens to participate in the entire process of budget formulation, execution, and monitoring. Seoul citizens, workers and students residing in Seoul, and organizations can participate in proposing projects. Proposed projects undergo a first review by the relevant Seoul city department, followed by deliberation by the Citizen Participation Budget Committee, citizen voting, a general meeting of the committee, and final budget approval through the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s budget review.

Through the citizen participation budget so far, projects such as installing nighttime safety guidance devices using light and sound in areas with frequent bicycle collision accidents in Hangang Park (300 million KRW), and installing ginkgo tree nets to prevent odors and slipping accidents (700 million KRW) have been implemented.

Last year, the Citizen Participation Budget Committee had 120 members, but this year the city plans to increase it to 200 to strengthen citizen representation. The city also lowered the entry barrier by relaxing the mandatory education requirement from pre-selection completion to post-selection completion. Applications to participate in the committee can be submitted through the Citizen Participation Budget website from the 6th to the 20th.

Additionally, as part of Seoul citizens’ participation in the budget formulation process, a citizen opinion report on the 2025 Seoul city budget proposal will be submitted to the city council, and monitoring of citizen participation budget projects will be conducted. Among the Citizen Participation Budget Committee members, 50 will analyze and provide opinions on the 2025 Seoul city budget proposal.

Kim Mi-jung, Director of Financial Planning at Seoul City, said, "This year, we improved the citizen participation budget system to make it easier for citizens to participate and to discover more projects for the vulnerable," adding, "We hope citizens actively propose projects so that high-quality projects can be selected."