In Response to Self-Employed Workers' Cries, Oh Se-hoon Announces "Urgent Early Supplementary Budget for Seoul"

"We Will Align with the Government's Early Supplementary Budget"
"Strengthening Emergency Support for Small Business Owners and the Self-Employed"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that he will prepare a supplementary budget bill early to aid economic recovery.

On the 22nd, Mayor Oh posted on Facebook, "I will prepare Seoul's early supplementary budget with a desperate mindset," adding, "We will have all preparations ready to respond swiftly in line with the government's supplementary budget movements."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated that he will prepare the supplementary budget bill early to promote economic recovery.

"Voices expressing economic hardship are heard painfully everywhere. Whether it is self-employed individuals or companies, sales are falling and jobs are decreasing," he said. "Especially young people are experiencing the worst employment crisis to the extent that the term 'employment ice age' is being used. There are even pessimistic forecasts that Korea's economic growth rate will be limited to 1.0%," he expressed concern.

He continued, "We will strengthen emergency support to reduce the damage to small business owners and the self-employed," and "We will eliminate welfare blind spots and provide practical help to citizens in difficulty." He also added, "We will secure future growth engines such as artificial intelligence (AI) to lay the foundation for long-term economic recovery. The city’s early supplementary budget will become a strong pillar to protect the lives of citizens."

Mayor Oh also expressed his intention to push for an early supplementary budget at the 328th extraordinary session of the city council held on the 19th. "Around May or June, based on previous years, I was considering whether a supplementary budget would be necessary, but the current situation is not good at all. Considering the difficult livelihood economy and aligning with the government's early supplementary budget, we are also discussing advancing the city's supplementary budget," he said.

Mayor Oh is preparing to publish an autobiography containing his administrative philosophy and topics such as local decentralization constitutional amendment. It is expected to include his administrative experience and philosophy as a four-term Seoul mayor, policies accompanying the vulnerable, and local decentralization constitutional amendment. There are also expectations that it will cover low birthrate measures such as support for foreign domestic workers, egg freezing procedure costs, and social welfare measures like the Didimdol income for socially disadvantaged groups. Although the publication schedule has not been disclosed, it is widely anticipated that the book will be released around the time of the impeachment trial verdict of President Yoon Seok-youl, which is likely to be delivered in mid-next month.