‘Gu District Council Deadlock’ Seodaemun-gu Urgently Implements 29.8 Billion Won Livelihood Budget Preemptive Disposition

Lee Seong-heon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu:
"An Unavoidable Measure to Minimize Damage to Residents' Livelihoods"

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, which faced a quasi-budget crisis due to disagreements with the district council, announced on the 20th that it will prioritize the execution of 29.8 billion KRW for 25 projects, including senior citizen jobs, veterans' honor allowances, school meals, and support for vulnerable groups during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Exterior view of Seodaemun District Office. Provided by Seodaemun District Office.

On the same day, Lee Seong-heon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, held an emergency press conference at the Seoul City Hall briefing room and stated, “To improve residents' welfare and minimize damage, we will urgently implement the preemptive disposition authority granted to local government heads under Article 122 of the Local Autonomy Act.”

Preemptive disposition refers to the local government head executing the budget without the approval of the local council. Accordingly, Seodaemun-gu decided to proceed with the previously halted or delayed senior citizen job projects, companion job projects, and community job projects. Additionally, budgets for veterans' honor allowances, infectious disease prevention, high-risk pregnant women's medical expenses, and school meal support will also be executed. Budgets for rehabilitation treatment for the disabled, social integration and academic return support for out-of-school youth, and living and independence support for at-risk youth will also be preemptively disbursed.

However, if the Seodaemun District Council does not approve the budget with a majority of the total council members present and a majority of those present voting in favor, the effect of the preemptive disposition will be lost from that point onward. Regarding this, Mayor Lee said, “Although the district council is currently in a situation where the ruling party is in the minority, the preemptive disposition budget is directly related to people's livelihoods, so the council will approve it. If they do not approve it, it means ignoring the hardships faced by the residents.”

Currently, the Seodaemun District Council consists of 15 members: 8 from the Democratic Party of Korea, 5 from the People Power Party, 1 from the Reform New Party, and 1 independent.

According to Seodaemun-gu, the quasi-budget situation arose when Democratic Party members of the Seodaemun District Council unilaterally nullified the “2025 Seodaemun-gu budget plan,” which had been agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties in the council’s Budget and Accounts Special Committee, following instructions from Kim Young-ho, a National Assembly member for Seodaemun-eul from the same party, and abruptly passed a revised proposal on the 20th of last month.

The 2025 Seodaemun-gu budget plan had been virtually finalized through the council’s standing committee and Budget and Accounts Special Committee with bipartisan agreement on the 17th of last month. The final agreement was reached late at night on the 17th with the participation of the three party floor leaders and Kim Yang-hee, chairperson of the district council (Democratic Party), leaving only the plenary session vote scheduled for the 20th.

Mayor Lee Seong-heon criticized, “The district council nullified the budget agreement, claiming it was ‘unrelated to people's livelihoods,’ and abruptly proposed a revised budget that collectively cut major projects necessary for the development of Seodaemun-gu’s future generations and regional progress, violating procedures. The Democratic Party then forcibly passed this budget, which violates laws, and notified Seodaemun-gu. The complete cut of these project budgets clearly shows political intent.”

The projects cut by Democratic Party members of the Seodaemun District Council include those initiated and successfully developed by Mayor Lee during the 8th local government term: 1 billion KRW for the ‘Cafe Waterfall Hallyu Culture Experience Center’ project, 290 million KRW for ‘classical music performances,’ 848 million KRW for operating the ‘Seodaemun-gu Office Women’s Basketball Team,’ 1.1 billion KRW for preliminary design services for the Hongje Hong Eun Station area revitalization project, and 1.45 billion KRW for purchasing staff dormitories.

In this process, Seodaemun-gu is urgently operating under a quasi-budget system in accordance with Article 146 of the Local Autonomy Act. However, quasi-budgets can only be executed within limits such as maintaining and operating institutions or facilities established by law or ordinance, fulfilling expenditure obligations under laws or ordinances, or continuing projects already approved in the budget.

Mayor Lee Seong-heon emphasized, “Although we have inevitably resorted to preemptive disposition to minimize residents' damage, the only way to resolve the quasi-budget situation early and fully restore the livelihood budget is to promptly convene the Seodaemun District Council and properly process the 2025 budget plan. Budget deliberations must resume based on the will of the residents and bipartisan agreement.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.