"Residents Lead the Budget"... Gwangju Gwangsangu Allocates 1.5 Billion Won for Participatory Budgeting

New Youth Participatory Project Established; Young Adult Budget Also Expanded
Mobile Budget School to Operate; Residents' Voices Reflected
Mayor Park Byungkyu: "Citizens to Become True Owners of Fiscal Management"

Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, is expanding its participatory budgeting system by allocating 1.5 billion KRW for the 2026 main budget. This is an increase of 200 million KRW (15%) compared to the previous year.

On the 26th, the 'Resident Participatory Budget System Operation Plan Sharing Meeting' was held at Gwangsan District Office. Provided by Gwangju Gwangsan District Office.

Gwangsan-gu announced that during the 'Participatory Budgeting System Operation Plan Sharing Meeting' held on the 2nd floor of the district office's situation room on the 26th, it explained this year's operation plan and collected opinions from members of the Participatory Budget Committee.

This year's participatory budget is set at 1.5 billion KRW, an increase of 200 million KRW from the previous year, and will be reflected in the 2026 main budget. In particular, considering the high proportion of youth in the region, a new youth participatory project has been established, and the budget for young adult participatory projects has also been expanded. In addition, general and district administration participatory projects have been integrated into 'resident participatory projects' to reflect more citizens' opinions in district administration.

The mobile budget school will offer customized, field-oriented educational programs for young adults and youth. In addition, to prevent budget waste in participatory projects and enhance sustainability, project execution monitoring and post-management will be strengthened.

District Mayor Park Byungkyu stated, "Our goal for the 8th term of Gwangsan-gu is to solidify local autonomy by establishing citizens as the true owners of district administration," and added, "We will do our best to ensure that the participatory budgeting system strengthens citizens' capacity for self-governance and leads to highly effective policies."