Securing an Additional 61.4 Billion Won Beyond Initial Government Proposal
"Prioritizing Livelihood Stability and Future Growth Projects"
On the 11th, Gwangju City announced that 3.3858 trillion KRW was reflected in the city’s budget from the ‘2025 Government Budget’ passed by the National Assembly plenary session on the 10th.
This includes an additional 61.4 billion KRW in national funds from confirmed public projects and ongoing projects finalized at the end of the year after the government budget proposal announced in August, an increase of 141.2 billion KRW (4.4%) compared to last year’s 3.2446 trillion KRW.
However, since the government budget passed the National Assembly as a reduced budget without any increase, there is regret that project funds agreed upon through Gwangju City’s strategic response for additional increases and communication with the National Assembly and central government ministries were not reflected.
To secure the government budget, the city formed a national fund strategy team and stayed in Seoul for over a month, making every effort to increase the budget during the National Assembly’s budget review for about 50 projects including future growth engine industries such as AI Phase 2, automobile parts remanufacturing, and the Asia Culture Centered City Special Account projects.
In the social overhead capital (SOC) sector, the budget was increased compared to the initially identified government budget proposal, including 36.7 billion KRW for the expansion of Honam Expressway (Donggwangju IC to Gwangsan IC) and 45.3 billion KRW for the construction of the Gwangju-Gangjin Expressway. Additionally, 2.32 billion KRW was additionally secured for 19 projects such as the Yeongsangang Bicycle Village Test City construction with 1 billion KRW and support for compound semiconductor manufacturing base technology advancement using AI with 2.75 billion KRW, confirmed after the government proposal announcement in August.
Future growth engine projects not reflected in next year’s government budget, such as the AX (AI Transformation) Demonstration Valley creation project, establishment of an AI gifted high school, and automobile parts remanufacturing and circular economy system construction, were in the final stages of consultation with the government but the budget increase was canceled. The city plans to continue consultations with relevant ministries and financial authorities to ensure these are reflected in the supplementary budget.
Mayor Kang Ki-jung stated, “It is regrettable that the budget for livelihood and major local government projects was not increased despite the severe economic difficulties,” and added, “Even amid a turbulent political situation, we will prioritize strengthening livelihood measures so that all citizens can continue to live safe daily lives.”
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