7 Trillion Won Increase from Last Year... Leap to Korea's Leading City
‘Economic, Population, Climate’ Recovery... Focus on Future Investment and Livelihood
Mayor Kang: “Fiscal Role More Important in Difficult Times”
The city of Gwangju has prepared the 2025 main budget at 7.6069 trillion KRW, an increase of 702.7 billion KRW (10.2%) compared to this year, and submitted it to the Gwangju City Council on the 11th.
Next year's budget aims for a "Gwangju Leap" to become a representative city of South Korea through recovery in three major indicators: economy, population, and climate, as well as industry, talent, and startups. With an active fiscal operation as the basic direction, it focuses investments on ▲livelihood recovery and future investment ▲community recovery and expansion of care ▲climate recovery and strengthening safety nets. In addition, a systematic "smart expenditure restructuring" will be promoted by integrating similar and overlapping projects and adjusting project schedules.
The city has prepared 12 types of policy funds to ease the burden on small business owners, small and medium enterprises, and traditional market merchants, and to support their re-leap.
It focuses investments on fostering advanced strategic industries such as artificial intelligence (AI) and mobility, which are Gwangju’s representative industries, as well as on startups, demonstrations, and establishing a Gwangju-style practical talent development system. To support AI company startups and talent development, it operates AI startup camps, AI academies, and AI data center service platforms. Budgets have also been allocated for future mobility industry preemption, including building an EV battery bonding technology demonstration base and operating a future car parts and materials specialized complex task force.
The "Gwangju-style Integrated Care," which is developing into South Korea’s standard care policy, will expand beyond individual care to relational care and community restoration. Furthermore, to prevent people from wandering in emergency rooms, investments will be strengthened to build a Gwangju-style one-stop emergency medical platform, operate public late-night children’s hospitals and public late-night pharmacies, and establish a public health care system that provides customized health management services within living areas.
To realize carbon neutrality faster than other cities, the city will actively promote the transition from a car-centered city to a "public transport, bicycle, and pedestrian-centered city." To revitalize public transportation, the Gwangju-style model "G-Pass" linked with the public transportation fare refund service "K-Pass" will be implemented, providing additional discounts by age group beyond the "K-Pass" subsidy.
Funds have also been secured for disaster management budgets responding to increasingly severe climate change and for projects supporting climate-vulnerable groups, aiming to create a safe and convenient city.
Prior to preparing this main budget, Gwangju established a Financial Innovation Team in July to promote fiscal soundness by reviewing major investment projects, identifying inefficient budgets, and pursuing additional revenue measures.
Through the "Fiscal Strategy Meeting," similar and overlapping projects were integrated, and unnecessary or projects requiring schedule adjustments were either split or abolished, systematically implementing high-intensity expenditure restructuring for nonessential budgets.
The city also improved fiscal soundness by refinancing 154.8 billion KRW of high-interest loans (average 3.7%) into low-interest loans (2.8%), reducing interest burdens from local bond issuance by 16.8 billion KRW.
Mayor Kang Gi-jung emphasized, "Although the fiscal situation is expected to remain challenging next year, the role of finance is more important than ever when people’s livelihoods are difficult. We will focus on both livelihood recovery and future investment and make meticulous efforts to ensure that funds are properly used where needed."
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