Gimpo City’s Entire 1.7 Trillion Won Supplementary Budget Rejected... Welfare, Economy, and Safety All Hit

Gimpo City's Entire Second Supplementary Budget Rejected: Direct Hit to Livelihoods
Additional Support for Vulnerable Groups Such as People with Disabilities and the Elderly Halted
Everything from Disaster Prevention to Infrastructure Expansion Becomes Difficult
Gimpo City: "We Will Submit a New Supplementary Budget Proposal as Soon as Possible"

Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province faced an unprecedented situation when the entire supplementary budget proposal was rejected during the 257th extraordinary session held from April 14 to 18. The city announced on April 22 that it had allocated 1.7393 trillion won for the second supplementary budget for 2025, but the proposal was voted down.

Gimpo City Hall exterior. Provided by Gimpo City

As a result, the city expressed deep concern that citizens' safety is at risk and livelihoods will become even more difficult during these challenging times. The city plans to revise and supplement the second supplementary budget proposal and resubmit it as soon as possible.

The supplementary budget proposal, which was entirely rejected, had prioritized public safety and the expansion of practical living infrastructure. Due to the complete rejection, the safety of citizens is now immediately at risk.

Mayor Kim Byungsoo had gathered civil complaints by district and conducted on-site inspections during the New Year's address in February. Based on these findings, the city included urgent projects in the supplementary budget that required prompt action. These included: 60 million won for the maintenance of irrigation and farm roads in Dongulsan-ri, Tongjin-eup; 70 million won for repaving the industrial complex in Sangma-ri, Daegot-myeon; 155 million won for stormwater pipe installation in the flood-prone area of Gomak-ri, Wolgot-myeon; and 115 million won for drainage maintenance in Siam-ri, Haseong-myeon. However, with the entire proposal rejected, these projects cannot proceed. This means that maintenance of vulnerable irrigation channels, farm roads, flood-prone areas, and drainage systems ahead of the upcoming rainy season cannot be carried out, and even urgent matters directly related to citizen safety cannot move forward due to the city council's rejection.

Support for livelihoods during the economic crisis has also become difficult. Expenditures totaling 1.941 billion won, including 1.5 billion won for small and medium-sized business development funds and 15 million won for environmental improvements at the Gimpo Five-Day Market, which were intended to stabilize local small businesses and SMEs and create jobs, have been blocked.

There are also concerns about direct impacts on vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with disabilities. The city was unable to secure 300 million won for additional support for activity assistance for people with disabilities and 200 million won for private residential facilities for people with disabilities, making it difficult to provide extra support. In addition, 100 million won each for the Youth Tomorrow Savings Account (for low-income groups) and for senior citizen center environment improvement projects have also been blocked, making it impossible to expect improvements in the quality of life for socially disadvantaged groups.

Even disaster prevention, an essential need, has been delayed. The city could not secure 6 billion won for transfers from the sewerage special account for BTO and BTL operations and advance investments in sewerage projects, 1 billion won for defect repairs on the Janggi Underpass noise barrier tunnel, and 300 million won for local river maintenance, which means repairs to aging facilities cannot be carried out.

In addition, a total of 22.72 billion won for a safer transportation environment?including 11.3 billion won for transfers from the urban railway special account for Gimpo Gold Line operation and facility improvements, 10.5 billion won for the grade separation project at the Yangchon Industrial Complex Interchange on National Route 84 (scheduled for completion in June 2025), and 200 million won for the construction of a school road for Unyang Elementary and Middle School?could not be secured.

Projects that would have enriched citizens' lives, such as 1.7 billion won for the construction of a park golf course at Solte Sports Park, 500 million won for the construction of Gochon Singok Soccer Field, and 300 million won for remodeling Jungbong Library, have also been blocked, preventing citizens from enjoying better leisure opportunities.

A Gimpo City official stated, "The rejection of this supplementary budget will cause significant harm to citizens. The city is determined to take proactive measures to ensure that the supplementary budget review can proceed again as quickly as possible, in order to protect citizens' safety, prevent disasters, and support the livelihoods of vulnerable groups."