Seoul City, First Supplementary Budget of 1.511 Trillion Won This Year... Focus on 'Economic Recovery'

Total Budget of 47.2991 Trillion Won Upon Supplementary Budget Approval
368.2 Billion Won Allocated for Livelihood Economy Recovery
113.7 Billion Won for Safety Sector · 77.3 Billion Won for Attraction Sector

Seoul City has allocated 1.511 trillion won as the first supplementary budget of the year. Following last year, it aims to alleviate the burden on the common people caused by the prolonged 'three highs (high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates)' and to provide more active support for vulnerable groups.

On the 27th, Seoul City announced that it has prepared the '2024 First Supplementary Budget Proposal,' focusing on the recovery of the people's economy and the creation of a safe and attractive city, and submitted it to the Seoul Metropolitan Council. The supplementary budget size is about 3.3% of this year's original budget of 45.7881 trillion won, and if passed as proposed, the total city budget for this year will be 47.2991 trillion won.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the follow-up "Comprehensive Plan for Revitalizing the Han River Water Activities" for the "Great Han River Project" at Seoul City Hall on the 24th of last month.
Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

The core goal of the supplementary budget is the recovery of the people's economy and support for vulnerable groups, with a total of 368.2 billion won allocated. First, 105.1 billion won will be invested to expand support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners. For small business owners, the scale of financial support will be expanded, and for SMEs, support for trade credit insurance premiums will be increased to prevent bankruptcy and chain insolvency caused by unpaid trade payments. To revive consumer sentiment, an additional 100 billion won worth of Seoul Metropolitan Love Gift Certificates, usable throughout Seoul, will be issued.

An additional 115.7 billion won has been allocated to support measures to reduce citizens' burdens in the era of high inflation. An additional 69.7 billion won will be allocated to the Climate Companion Card, introduced in January and highly welcomed, to launch short-term passes for tourists and provide additional benefits such as discounts on cultural facility use. A budget for the Dawn Companion Autonomous Bus, operating from Dobong to Yeongdeungpo starting in October, has also been newly established.

A new budget of 147.4 billion won has been allocated to expand protection for vulnerable groups. The provision of lunch for low-income elderly will be expanded from 3 days to 5 days a week, and the meal cost for children at risk of food insecurity will be raised from 8,000 won to 9,000 won per meal to provide higher quality meals. In line with the steady increase in the number of disabled public transportation users, support will be provided for Seoul bus fares and transfer fares for Gyeonggi and Incheon buses for 1 million people annually, and in the second half of the year, support will be expanded to include transfer fares for River Bus and GTX-A lines.

Additional budget has also been allocated to overcome the low birthrate crisis. For pregnant women aged 35 and over, who face high medical costs, up to 500,000 won will be supported regardless of income for outpatient treatment and examination costs. For Seoul citizens who have undergone fertility restoration procedures such as tubal or vas deferens restoration, up to 1 million won per person will be supported to reduce the economic burden on families hoping for pregnancy and childbirth.

A budget of 113.7 billion won has been allocated to the 'Safety' sector for the maintenance of aging facilities and essential infrastructure. In particular, 17.8 billion won has been allocated to increase subway cars on the highly congested Lines 4, 7, and 9. The plan is to invest 102.5 billion won, including 25.6 billion won in national funds, by 2027. Additionally, aging suicide prevention CCTV installed on Jamsil and Yeongdong bridges over the Han River will be replaced, and traffic safety facilities in school zones will be reinforced to prevent traffic accidents involving children.

A total of 77.3 billion won will be invested in the 'Attractiveness' sector, centered on urban space innovation. Design of waterfront cultural spaces such as a water art stage and popup wall will be carried out on Nodeul Island. A basic plan and feasibility study will be conducted for the creation of a 'Gateway' connecting Yongsan International Business District, Yongsan Station, and Yongsan Park, and a comprehensive plan will be established for land use and future city vision in the Sangam area. In addition, 70 billion won will be additionally supported to cover operating deficits of city buses, and 4.2 billion won will be allocated to deploy additional safety personnel for light rail transit.

Kim Tae-gyun, Director of Planning and Coordination at Seoul City, emphasized, "This supplementary budget focuses on quickly implementing policies that can be felt in the field of the people's economy, such as reducing citizens' economic burdens and supporting small business owners and SMEs." He added, "Once approved by the city council in June, we will prepare to promptly execute the budget to revitalize the common people's economy."