Seoul Metropolitan Council Approves 2nd Supplementary Budget for COVID-19 Response

Seoul City Increases Budget by 1.6938 Trillion Won Including COVID-19 Emergency Disaster Relief Fund... Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Increases Budget by 7.5 Billion Won for Food Ingredient Package Project

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council approved the supplementary budget proposal submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 8th to support those affected by COVID-19.

The scale of the supplementary budget confirmed by the Seoul Metropolitan Council amounts to 1.6938 trillion KRW for the Seoul Metropolitan Government and 7.5 billion KRW for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. In the case of Seoul, by reducing existing projects, the actual increase reaches 2.8529 trillion KRW.

The second supplementary budget proposal submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on the 4th was submitted just 40 days after the first supplementary budget was finalized (March 24). This is interpreted as a proactive measure by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to restore the shrinking economy of ordinary citizens due to COVID-19.

In particular, the Seoul Metropolitan Council conducted a focused review and approval of the supplementary budget in just one day on the 8th, recognizing that the supplementary budget is an essential fund to respond to COVID-19.

With the confirmation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s supplementary budget, it is expected that the COVID-19 emergency disaster relief funds, which support all households in Seoul, will be implemented swiftly.

The COVID-19 emergency disaster relief fund will be executed with a total of 2.5062 trillion KRW, including 400 billion KRW from the first government supplementary budget and 2.1062 trillion KRW from the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s second supplementary budget (1.7833 trillion KRW from the second government supplementary budget and 322.9 billion KRW from the city’s own resources). It will be distributed to all households in Seoul in the form of credit/debit cards, Seoul Love Gift Certificates, and gift cards, with differentiated amounts up to 1 million KRW per household (400,000 KRW for one person, 600,000 KRW for two people, 800,000 KRW for three people, and 1 million KRW for four or more people).

Support for Seoul’s self-employed survival funds will be executed with 575.6 billion KRW, sourced from 325.6 billion KRW in the supplementary budget and 250 billion KRW from the disaster management fund’s disaster account. Cash support of 700,000 KRW per month for two months will be provided to 410,000 small business owners with annual sales under 200 million KRW as of 2019 (excluding certain industries such as entertainment, nightlife, and gambling).

Following the approval of the supplementary budget by the Seoul Metropolitan Council, 34.4 billion KRW will be provided to maintain businesses and employment in urban manufacturing, performance, hotel, and taxi industries, and 9.1 billion KRW will be allocated to support workers in the blind spots of employment insurance.

Moreover, the Seoul Metropolitan Council approved the supplementary budget for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. In 2020, 7,500 first-year high school students, who were excluded from free school meals, will be supported with a 7.5 billion KRW supplementary budget for the 'Food Ingredient Package' project.

With the approval of the supplementary budget, the food ingredient package project will be promoted, providing vouchers worth 100,000 KRW per student to 860,000 elementary, middle, and high school students across Seoul whose school meals were suspended due to COVID-19.

Hyun-chan Lee, Chair of the Budget and Accounts Committee (Democratic Party, Eunpyeong 4), stated, “Following the first supplementary budget, the purpose of the second supplementary budget is to effectively respond to COVID-19. Considering the necessity and urgency of the supplementary budget, I joined my fellow council members in approving it.” He added, “I hope that the supplementary budget will be supported across all sectors according to its purpose, alleviating the economic difficulties faced by our citizens due to COVID-19, and that all citizens will quickly return to the time before COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.