Interior Ministry Finalizes 76.9055 Trillion Won Budget for Next Year... 1 Trillion Won Allocated to Local Gift Certificates

Increased Budget for National Information Resources Fire Response
Local Gift Certificate Program Budget Finalized Without Cuts

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's budget for next year has been finalized at approximately 77 trillion won. The budget for local gift certificates, amounting to 1 trillion won, was maintained without any cuts during the National Assembly's review process.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on December 3, the budget passed the National Assembly plenary session the previous day at 76.9055 trillion won, an increase of 4.8216 trillion won compared to this year's main budget. The budget consists of 69.3549 trillion won for local allocation tax, 431 billion won for basic expenses and personnel costs, and 7.1196 trillion won for project expenses. The project expenses were increased by 453.1 billion won compared to the government’s original proposal during the National Assembly’s budget review.

The budget for local gift certificates, which was the most contentious issue in the National Assembly’s review of the Ministry’s budget, was maintained at the government’s proposal of 1.15 trillion won. The National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts failed to reach a bipartisan agreement, presenting both increase and decrease proposals, but ultimately decided to maintain the government’s original plan. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated, “With the revision of the Local Gift Certificate Act making state funding mandatory, the budget for supporting the issuance of gift certificates has been expanded to 1.15 trillion won, enabling more stable support for revitalizing local economies.”

The budget related to the National Information Resources Service fire was increased during the National Assembly’s review. This includes 49 billion won for establishing emergency recovery IT equipment and transitioning to private cloud services, and 343.4 billion won for improving major disaster recovery (DR) systems and gradually relocating the aging Daejeon Center.

Additionally, after the Ministry of the Interior and Safety was designated as the lead agency for the social solidarity economy in October, it has been actively working to enact the “Basic Act on Social Solidarity Economy” and to increase the related budget. As a result, 11.8 billion won was allocated to support the development of region-specific social value creation models, enabling local communities to play a greater role in revitalizing local economies and solving regional issues.

Other budget increases include 14.1 billion won for the Fire Safety Grant Tax, 250 million won for the operation of the October 29 Disaster Victims Support Group, and 6.6 billion won for establishing the next-generation local administration common system. However, 4.9 billion won was cut from the ordinary allocation tax, and 200 million won from the support for promoting good price businesses.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Hojoong stated, “Next year’s budget focuses on tasks that can bring positive changes to people’s lives, such as realizing an AI-driven democratic government, promoting balanced regional growth, and ensuring public safety. Based on the values of participation, solidarity, and innovation, we will execute the budget without setbacks to become a reliable ‘Ministry of Happiness and Safety’ that safeguards the happiness of the people in every sector.”