Three Public Projects Reviewed: Buses, Sewage, Environment
Operation and Management Deemed Appropriate
Annual Budget Savings of 8.4 Billion Won Expected
On August 29, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced that the Korea Institute of Local Public Finance had reached a final conclusion that the establishment of the tentatively named "Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Facility Management Corporation" is justified. The review covered three projects: public buses, sewage facilities, and environmental facilities, all of which were evaluated as suitable for operation and management through the corporation.
Jeju is the only metropolitan local government in South Korea that does not have a facility management corporation dedicated to public facilities. Since the failure to establish such a corporation in 2020, the need for its creation has been consistently raised due to the continued increase in public facilities, expanding deficits, lack of specialized personnel, and rising costs of private outsourcing.
To establish an integrated facility operation system with enhanced expertise and accountability, the province developed a basic plan for the creation of the facility management corporation. After completing the first preliminary consultation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety at the end of October last year, the province requested a feasibility review from the Korea Institute of Local Public Finance in December of the same year.
The feasibility review concluded that the establishment of the corporation is justified in all areas: appropriateness of the project (legal suitability), organization and personnel (compliance with local public enterprise establishment standards), impact on local finances (effect on improving the fiscal balance), and enhancement of residents' welfare.
In particular, it was analyzed that establishing the corporation would result in an average annual budget savings of 8.4 billion won compared to the current system. In a resident survey, support for the establishment of the corporation reached 66.2%, a 9.9 percentage point increase from 56.3% in 2019.
The corporation will be organized into one office, three divisions, and fifteen teams, with a total of 555 employees at the time of launch. After the completion of the modernization of the Jeju Sewage Treatment Plant in 2029, the workforce will increase by 92 to a total of 647 employees, meeting the standards for establishing a local public enterprise.
The evaluation results will be released on the Jeju provincial website by the end of September. At a resident public hearing to be held at 2 p.m. on September 8 on the fourth floor of the Seolmundae Women's Culture Center, a wide range of opinions from stakeholders and residents will be gathered.
Based on the results of this feasibility review, the province plans to accelerate the establishment process. After the second consultation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and deliberation by the provincial establishment review committee, the ordinance will be enacted within this year, with the goal of launching the province's first local public corporation, the Facility Management Corporation, in July next year through a phased process.
Yang Kicheol, Director of Planning and Coordination, said, "The Facility Management Corporation will be a turning point for enhancing the expertise and efficiency of public facility management in Jeju. In addition to annual budget savings of 8.4 billion won, we expect it will contribute to attracting young people to the region and revitalizing the local economy by creating specialized youth jobs."
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