"Is This Budget Really Necessary?"... Citizens Take Charge of National Fiscal 'Diet'

Ministry Announces Overhaul of National Participatory Budget System
Proposals Now Accepted for Both New and Existing Project Budgets
Up to 6 Million Won Reward for Contributors to Spending Efficiency

The government is set to completely overhaul the National Participatory Budget System, enabling citizens to directly propose and evaluate measures to enhance spending efficiency and reduce budget waste. Previously focused on new projects, the system will now allow citizens to propose restructuring of existing projects and suggest ways to cut costs.

On January 29, the Ministry of Planning and Budget announced, "We will strengthen public participation throughout the entire budget process-from formulation and execution to evaluation and feedback-by recognizing citizens not merely as beneficiaries of policy, but as partners and watchdogs in fiscal management," as it unveiled the plan for system improvement.

The National Participatory Budget System, introduced in 2018, allows citizens to directly propose budget projects, with a citizen participation group evaluating and determining project priorities. Since its implementation, more than 300 projects-such as support for eco-friendly agricultural products for pregnant women and the creation of urban forests to reduce fine dust-have been incorporated into the national budget, totaling 540 billion won.

The core of this reform is a significant expansion in the scope of citizen proposals. While the system previously focused on discovering new projects, it will now also accept proposals aimed at improving existing projects that contain elements of budget waste or habitual spending. The government will award up to 6 million won for proposals that make a substantial contribution to spending efficiency.

An employee organizing 50,000 won bills at the headquarters of Hana Bank in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Face-to-face participation opportunities will also be expanded to improve accessibility. The government plans to actively seek input from socially vulnerable groups-including the elderly and people with disabilities who may have difficulty using the internet-by reaching out directly to identify policy needs. The size of the citizen participation group will be increased from the current 300 to around 600 members. In addition to the existing recruitment method, which relied on private sector talent pools, a nationwide open recruitment process will be introduced. One participant in the citizen group commented, "I was pleased to be able to voice my opinion even though I am not a public official, and I gained confidence knowing my thoughts were understood and supported."

The online participation infrastructure will also be completely revamped. The government will add five-year project overview materials to the National Participatory Budget website, allowing citizens to directly analyze and review participatory budget projects. Coordination between central and local governments will be strengthened as well. The previously fragmented participatory budget systems operated separately by central and local governments will be integrated through platform connectivity.

The government will accept proposals for participatory budget projects year-round, and will openly recruit members for the citizen participation group-who will directly evaluate budget projects-until February 28. A Ministry of Planning and Budget official stated, "The very experience of citizens directly participating in the budget process is an important starting point for enhancing fiscal democracy and transparency," adding, "We aim to establish an open fiscal system that allows the public to scrutinize national finances from their own perspective."