Sancheong County Blocks Waste of Taxpayers' Money Through Pre-Audits and Contract Reviews

Budget Savings of 761 Million Won Achieved Across 337 Projects

Sancheong County in South Gyeongsang Province has reported significant budget savings last year as a result of its preemptive monitoring and contract review and daily audit systems, which were implemented to prevent the waste of taxpayers' money in advance.

The contract review system involves examining the appropriateness of cost estimates at every stage of bidding and contracting for construction, services, and goods procurement initiated by the local government. Daily audits are conducted before the execution of major policies to check for legality and validity.

Aerial view of Sancheong County Office.

Through these measures, the county conducted focused audits on a total of 337 projects, specifically checking whether construction methods appropriate to on-site conditions were applied from the planning stage and whether any unnecessary processes were included.

The audits resulted in the correction of excessively high design unit costs and the adoption of reasonable cost calculations reflecting regional characteristics, leading to budget savings of 761 million won.

The budget saved through these audits will be reinvested in key pending projects, the enhancement of residents' welfare, and the revitalization of the local economy.

Sancheong County's operation of contract review and daily audit systems has been recognized for enhancing fiscal efficiency and preemptively eliminating sources of budget waste through a rigorous pre-budget monitoring network.

Notably, the significance lies not only in reducing costs but also in establishing a virtuous cycle of budget allocation by directing the secured funds to areas of greater need.

Building on these results, the county plans to further enhance administrative transparency through more specialized contract reviews and to step up efforts to prevent shoddy construction and improve quality.

A county official stated, "Meticulous pre-audits serve as the final safeguard to ensure that residents' precious tax money is not wasted," adding, "This year as well, we will implement sound fiscal management and trustworthy administration through professional cost analysis and field-oriented audits."