Seoul City Announces 1.5 Trillion Won Supplementary Budget... 70 Billion Won for Climate Companion Card and 10 Billion Won for Small Business Support (Comprehensive)

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 prepared an additional supplementary budget of approximately 1.5 trillion won for the first time this year. Following last year, it aims to alleviate the burden on the common people caused by the prolonged 'three highs' of high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates, and to provide more active support for vulnerable groups. Budgets have also been allocated for key projects such as the Climate Companion Card and the 'Attractive City Seoul' initiative.

On the 27th, Seoul City held a briefing at Seoul City Hall and announced, "We have 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 will submit it to the Seoul Metropolitan Council." The supplementary budget amounts to 1.511 trillion won, which is about 3.3% of this year's approved budget of 45.7881 trillion won. If passed as originally planned, the total city budget for this year will be 47.2991 trillion won. Due to the government's budget tightening stance, this is a smaller amount compared to last year's final budget of 50.376 trillion won. The supplementary budget funds come from the surplus of last fiscal year's settlement.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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 increased, and for SMEs, support for trade credit insurance premiums will be increased to prevent bankruptcies and chain failures caused by uncollected transaction payments. To revive consumer sentiment, an additional 100 billion won worth of Seoul Metropolitan Love Gift Certificates, usable throughout Seoul, will be issued.

Regarding concerns that support for crisis-hit companies might produce 'insolvent companies,' Kim Tae-gyun, Director of Planning and Coordination at Seoul City, explained at the briefing, "During the COVID-19 period, the government provided many related loans to SMEs and small business owners, but now the repayment period has arrived. Since interest rates are high these days, the priority is to help with the difficulty of repaying loans rather than selection issues."

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 has been allocated to the Climate Companion Card, which was introduced in January and received high acclaim, to launch short-term passes for tourists and residents living outside Seoul, and to provide additional benefits such as discounts on cultural facility use. Most of the budget will be used to compensate for losses. Director Kim added, "The compensation amount for the Climate Companion Card in the approved budget was only allocated until the end of May. The supplementary budget includes compensation from June to the end of the year, so the budget has increased."

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 three days a week to five days, and the meal price 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 public transportation users with disabilities, Seoul bus fares and transfer fares for Gyeonggi and Incheon buses will be supported for 1 million people annually, and in the second half of the year, support will be expanded to include transfer fares for the River Bus and the GTX (Great Train Express) Line A in the metropolitan area.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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. The city explained that all newly established budgets in this supplementary budget were selected with a focus on 'recovery of the people's economy.'

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 the 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 work will be carried out for waterfront cultural spaces such as a water art stage and popup walls 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 allocated for additional deployment of safety personnel on light rail transit.

Director Kim emphasized, "This Seoul supplementary budget focuses on quickly implementing policies that can be felt on the ground in the people's economy, such as reducing citizens' economic burdens and supporting small business owners and SMEs," and added, "If approved by the City Council in June, we will prepare to promptly execute it to revitalize the common people's economy."