Gwangmyeong City Finalizes Next Year's Budget at 1.3471 Trillion Won... Up 18.8%

272.6 Billion Won to Be Invested in Basic Society, Carbon Neutrality, Livelihood Economy, and Local Autonomy
Park Seungwon: "Focusing on Changes in Daily Life and Enhancing the City’s Future Competitiveness"

While local governments across the country are tightening their budgets, Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province is drawing attention by adopting an expansionary fiscal policy, increasing next year's budget by 18.8%.

On December 22, Gwangmyeong City announced that at the city council’s plenary session held on December 19, the budget for next year was finalized at 1.3471 trillion won, an increase of 212.8 billion won (18.8%) compared to this year’s main budget.

Park Seungwon, Mayor of Gwangmyeong, stated, “Despite challenging financial circumstances, next year’s budget faithfully reflects the central government’s policy directions and incorporates the city’s vision of ‘realizing a basic society and sustainable growth.’ We will focus on creating changes that citizens can feel in their daily lives and strengthening the city’s future competitiveness.”

The city will concentrate 272.6 billion won in investments in the following areas: ▲Basic Society (49.9 billion won) ▲Carbon Neutrality & Garden City (144.1 billion won) ▲Local Autonomy, Social Economy, and Lifelong Learning (27.4 billion won) ▲Livelihood Economy & Jobs (51.2 billion won).

In the area of Basic Society, the city will expand basic income policies such as enlistment support payments, first birthday celebration grants, and youth basic income, as well as care policies including paternity leave incentives, seasonal fruit support for elderly living alone, and support for young family caregivers. Support for children and youth transportation expenses, customized bus operations for transportation-vulnerable areas, and assistance for housing, healthcare, and education will also be strengthened.

Large-scale investments will be made to address the climate crisis. The city plans to create an environment where nature and daily life coexist through initiatives such as carbon neutrality, the creation of urban forest paths and gardens, revitalization of urban agriculture, and the establishment of a circular resource economy.

Next year, the city will expand participatory democracy through the Citizens’ Roundtable and initiatives to strengthen resident autonomy. It will also build a structure where learning circulates within the community by providing lifelong learning support grants, operating a community college, and expanding library services. In the social economy sector, the city will further connect with the local economy by fostering local brands and promoting fair trade.

In the areas of local economic recovery and livelihood stability, the city plans to support the recovery of the livelihood economy through public job creation, senior environmental volunteer programs, expansion of local currency, revitalization of commercial districts, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, and entrepreneurship education.

The city plans to execute the finalized budget swiftly and systematically from the beginning of the year, while strengthening performance monitoring and execution management for each project to enhance the tangible impact felt by citizens.