Jeonnam Province Approaches the Era of a 10 Trillion Won Budget Within the 7th Local Government Term

Next Year's Budget Set at 9.2023 Trillion Won... 1.0435 Trillion Won Increase Compared to This Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province (Governor Kim Young-rok) announced on the 10th that it will prepare the 2021 budget at 9.2023 trillion won, an increase of 12.8% (1.0435 trillion won) compared to this year, and submit it to the provincial council on the 11th.

Following the second supplementary budget this year, the province plans to invigorate the local economy through expansive fiscal investment by preparing a budget in the 9 trillion won range for 2021.

The increase in next year’s budget is due to a significant rise in national subsidy projects, which have secured over 7 trillion won for two consecutive years. It is expected that Jeonnam Province will enter the 10 trillion won budget era by 2022.

Jeonnam Province actively reflected the financial demands for infectious disease prevention and social welfare expenses in next year’s budget proposal.

Funds were strategically allocated to nine major future projects including the Blue Economy, youth population, job creation, strengthening competitiveness in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock industries, residents’ safety, and SOC expansion.

In particular, to revitalize the local economy, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19, and to accelerate the Blue Economy projects and achieve results, 367.7 billion won was prioritized for the job and economic sectors, an increase of 10.6% (35.3 billion won).

As major new policies, support will be provided for young couples’ settlement and childbirth, including marriage congratulatory money for young couples (1.2 billion won, 2 million won per couple), childcare product purchase expenses for large families (150 million won, 500,000 won per household), and infertility treatment expenses for infertile couples (60 million won, 200,000 to 1.5 million won per couple).

Additionally, to honor the historical and noble spirit of veterans and to provide benefits, honorary allowances of 500 million won and 2.9 billion won will be paid respectively.

Along with this, plans are in place to timely respond to changes in the economic situation and support workers’ welfare through projects such as establishing and operating an economic crisis response system (300 million won), supporting certification for specialized material and component companies (300 million won), and constructing the Daebul National Industrial Complex Multipurpose Cultural Center (600 million won).

Furthermore, the 1,000 Beautiful Village Making Project led by residents (1.2 billion won) will be promoted to induce community harmony and regional revitalization. Special allowances for elderly care facility workers (1 billion won), denture sterilizers (50 million won), participation allowances for out-of-school youth (150 million won), and the construction of youth support centers (4.1 billion won) will actively support the elderly and at-risk youth.

The budget also includes 20 billion won for the construction of the Eastern Region Integrated Government Building, which will actively respond to the administrative demands and aspirations of residents in the eastern region, and 6 billion won for the Eastern Region Infectious Disease Response Center.

In addition, happiness policies for residents have been expanded. Budgets have increased compared to this year for newlywed couples’ multi-child family housing support (600 million won → 900 million won), youth center support (200 million won → 400 million won), Youth Hope Stepping Stone Savings Account (500 million won → 900 million won), newborn childcare expenses (1.8 billion won → 2.5 billion won), and happiness vouchers for female farmers and fishermen (3.3 billion won → 3.4 billion won), accelerating the Jeonnam Happiness Era.

Major increased projects include the Public Interest Direct Payment System (223.6 billion won), urban flood response projects (3.5 billion won), replacement construction of eco-friendly hospital ships (6.1 billion won), tidal flat restoration projects in Tando Bay, Sinan and Muan (2.8 billion won), and the construction of the Honam Peace and Unification Center (4.8 billion won).

Myeong Chang-hwan, Director of Planning and Coordination Office of Jeonnam Province, said, “We will continue efforts to reduce the budget and thoroughly verify the performance of various subsidy projects to ensure that precious resources are not wasted. We will closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and actively invest finances in future strategic projects, residents’ livelihood stabilization, and regional economic revitalization.”

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