Paju City’s ‘Livelihood Recovery Living Stability Support Fund’ Budget Passed by City Council... Payments Begin on the 21st

Passed 52 Billion KRW by 8-7 Vote After Struggle in Paju City Council Plenary Session
Applications Accepted Online and Offline... 100,000 KRW per Person Paid via Paju Pay
Mayor Kim Kyung-il: "Livelihood Recovery Fund Is a Golden Time Budget... Will Be Paid Promptly"

Paju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Kyung-il) announced that the supplementary budget of 52 billion KRW related to the payment of the ‘Living Stability Support Fund for Livelihood Recovery’ was approved and finalized on the 7th after a vote by city council members at the Paju City Council extraordinary session plenary meeting, with 8 votes in favor (7 from the Democratic Party of Korea, 1 independent) and 7 against (People Power Party). Accordingly, from the 21st, all Paju citizens will receive 100,000 KRW per person as the ‘Living Stability Support Fund for Livelihood Recovery’ (hereinafter referred to as the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund).

Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City, is explaining the supplementary budget for the 100,000 KRW living stabilization support fund per citizen at the Paju City Council plenary session on the 21st of last month. Photo by Paju City

On the 2nd, Paju City announced the payment of the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund through a joint press conference held by Mayor Kim Kyung-il and Paju City Council Chairman Park Dae-sung, aiming to revive the struggling livelihood economy and promote local economic revitalization. On the same day, the supplementary budget was submitted to the Paju City Council. On the 7th, the 252nd extraordinary session of the Paju City Council was held to review and approve the ‘2025 First Supplementary Budget’.

The process of handling this supplementary budget was not smooth. At the Paju City Council Budget and Accounts Special Committee, member Lee Jin-ah (People Power Party) consistently opposed the universal payment of the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund to all Paju citizens. Accordingly, as Lee Jin-ah proposed, a revised bill reducing the budget from 52 billion KRW to 42 billion KRW and selectively paying the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund only to the lower 80% income group passed the committee. Both the revised bill and the original bill were submitted to the plenary session, and two supplementary budget bills were put to a vote by the city council members.

As a result of the vote, the revised bill proposing selective payment of 42 billion KRW was rejected with 7 votes in favor and 8 against, while the original bill proposing universal payment of 52 billion KRW was approved with 8 votes in favor (7 from the Democratic Party of Korea, 1 independent) and 7 against (People Power Party), enabling the payment of the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund to all Paju citizens.

With the original supplementary budget bill for the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund approved, Paju City plans to accept applications from Paju citizens starting on the 21st and promptly distribute the funds around the Lunar New Year holiday.

Mayor Kim Kyung-il of Paju City stated, “The ‘Living Stability Support Fund for Livelihood Recovery’ is not an ordinary budget but a ‘golden time budget’ urgently provided for livelihood recovery,” and added, “Amid recent political turmoil and ongoing difficulties, we will proceed with administrative procedures meticulously and swiftly so that all Paju citizens can receive support as quickly and comprehensively as possible.”