Settlement Inspection Committee Concludes 2024 Fiscal Year Audit Activities
15 Recommendations for Improvement, Including Insufficient Efforts in Delinquency Collection
Five Outstanding Cases Selected, Including "First Mobile Delinquency Notice in Gyeonggi Province"
Choi Hoonjong Urges "Transparency and Efficiency in Fiscal Operations"
The Hanam City Council in Gyeonggi Province has called for more proactive tax collection administration and the establishment of a constant delinquency management system amid a rise in local tax arrears.
On the 7th, Choi Hoonjong, the chief representative (second from the right), and Park Sunmi, a council member (center), visited the 'Public Sewage Treatment Facility Expansion Project' site within Hanam Union Park to inspect the installation status of major facilities for sewage inflow, treatment, and discharge. Provided by Hanam City Council
The Hanam City Council’s Settlement Inspection Committee, led by chief representative Choi Hoonjong, announced on the 27th that it had completed the settlement inspection of Hanam City Hall for the 2024 fiscal year.
This settlement inspection was conducted over 20 days from April 28 to May 17, with participation from seven committee members: Choi Hoonjong, Chair of the Urban Construction Committee and chief representative; Park Sunmi, council member; Yang Heeyoung, former Director of the Hanam City Autonomous Administration Bureau; Kim Jeongsun, former branch manager of NH Nonghyup Bank; and tax accountants Kang Byungsoo, Kim Hyungjun, and Noh Byungseok.
The inspectors conducted an in-depth review to determine whether the budget was executed in accordance with laws and project objectives, based on criteria such as the accuracy of accounting, rationality of budget formulation and execution, and achievement of performance indicators.
They also examined the overall financial operations of Hanam City, including the settlement of revenues and expenditures, financial statements, performance reports, attached documents to the settlement report, and the settlement of the city treasury. For areas deemed to require more detailed inspection, they conducted document reviews and on-site visits.
For the 2024 fiscal year, Hanam City’s total financial scale, including funds, was 1,257,169,113,000 won in revenue?a 14.93% decrease from the previous year?and 1,111,136,194,000 won in expenditure?a 12.99% decrease from the previous year. The per capita fiscal expenditure for residents was 2,984,240 won.
Hanam City’s general account fiscal independence ratio for the 2024 fiscal year was 47.75%, and the fiscal self-reliance ratio was 58.33%. Among the 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, Hanam ranked 4th in fiscal independence and 11th in fiscal self-reliance.
On the other hand, according to the inspection results, the amount of uncollected revenue for the 2024 fiscal year was 43,173,051,000 won, an increase of 4,826,549,000 won compared to the previous year.
The reasons for non-collection were as follows: tax delinquency (failure to pay without a valid reason despite having the ability to pay) accounted for the largest share at 42.98%; financial difficulties at 33.39%; payment not yet due (amounts not collected because the payment deadline is after the settlement year, so not technically in arrears) at 12.12%; and business closure or bankruptcy at 3.66%.
Choi Hoonjong, Chair of the Urban Construction Committee of Hanam City Council and the chief auditor for the 2024 fiscal year settlement inspection. Provided by Hanam City Council
Regarding this, the Settlement Inspection Committee stated, "The fact that 'tax delinquency' is the main cause of non-collection indicates a lack of awareness about tax obligations and the absence of a constant delinquency management system," adding, "Tax delinquency collection administration is not simply an enforcement task but is a core administrative competency for fiscal soundness and realizing tax justice. Proactive collection efforts are the responsibility of administrative agencies, and we urge the maximum use of legal and administrative means to collect delinquent taxes."
The committee also pointed out that although the total amount of revenue collection decided for Hanam City in the 2024 fiscal year was approximately 1,281,671,670,000 won, with a collection rate of 96.4%, hundreds of billions of won in uncollected revenue remain, indicating a need for thorough improvement in revenue collection management.
In particular, local tax arrears amounted to 27.8 billion won, accounting for the largest share (63.7%) of total uncollected revenue. The committee recommended strengthening administrative measures such as prompt seizure, public auction, and license plate confiscation for chronic and habitual delinquents, and also suggested implementing customized collection deferral and installment payment systems for taxpayers. These steps were advised to improve and recommend realistic and strategic collection measures.
Additionally, the committee identified and recommended improvements and institutional supplementation for 15 issues, including efforts to minimize refund amounts, the need to improve the collection rate of local taxes and non-tax revenues, correcting the underestimation of interest income, insufficient preliminary review of the Sangokcheon 2 Ecological Stream Restoration Project, thorough management of unused funds, and ensuring proper execution and appropriateness of participatory budgeting and subsidy projects.
The Settlement Inspection Committee also selected five outstanding cases that achieved notable results such as enhancing citizen convenience and saving the budget.
The selected cases included: the Tax Resource Management Division's implementation of Gyeonggi Province's first mobile (Kakao Notification Talk) delinquency notice service (ASP), which enabled efficient delinquency collection and minimized the dispatch of paper notices, contributing to budget savings and carbon neutrality; the Taxation Division’s improvement of the system through the 'Correct Taxpayer Address Notification'; the Tax Resource Management Division’s collection measures using delinquent taxpayers’ transaction records by bank; the Waterworks Division’s expansion of the remote metering 'Smart Mirroring' project; and the Sewerage Division’s establishment of a fee imposition system through a survey of the usage status of 1,844 residential groundwater sites in the city.
Choi Hoonjong, Chair of the Urban Construction Committee (Democratic Party of Korea, Constituency Na) and chief representative of the settlement inspection, emphasized, "The core of the settlement inspection is to confirm whether citizens’ tax money has been properly used and to encourage responsible fiscal management. I urge the executive branch to carefully review the committee’s recommendations, promptly address deficiencies, and do their utmost to implement follow-up measures to enhance the transparency and efficiency of Hanam City’s fiscal operations."
Park Sunmi, council member (People Power Party, Constituency Ga), stated, "There were many exemplary projects that contributed to improving the welfare of Hanam citizens and saving the budget," and requested, "I hope that going forward, efficient and appropriate budget execution and fiscal management for Hanam’s administration and regional development will ensure that not a single penny of tax is wasted and that funds are used effectively and appropriately where needed."
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