Gyeongju City Allocates 1.4895 Trillion Won Budget for Next Year... 5.3% Increase from This Year

Focus on Revitalizing Local Economy and Restoring Daily Life Amid Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic

A view of Gyeongju City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongju City announced on the 23rd that it has prepared the 2021 budget at 1.4895 trillion won, an increase of 74.5 billion won (5.3%) compared to the previous year, and submitted it to the city council.

The general account was expanded to 1.24 trillion won, an increase of 60 billion won (5.1%) compared to this year. The special account increased by 14.5 billion won (6.2%) to 249.5 billion won.

For local taxes, excluding local consumption tax based on the general account, an expansive estimate was reflected with an increase of 6.7 billion won to 195.5 billion won, and in the non-tax revenue sector, 1.5 billion won increase was reflected to 43.7 billion won.

Local allocation tax was set at 410.6 billion won, a decrease of 11.5 billion won (2.7%) due to a decline in domestic taxes, but Gyeongju City explained that financial resources have somewhat eased as 20 billion won of regional development fund loans (local bonds) were issued for the Dongcheon~Hwangseong urban forest creation project after approval by the council this year.

Following the central government's expansive budget policy and the Korean New Deal policy, national and provincial subsidies increased by 33 billion won to 488 billion won, and adjustment grants increased by 4.7 billion won to 25.5 billion won.

The special account is at a scale of 249.5 billion won, an increase of 6.2%. The water and sewage public enterprise special account was prepared at 127 billion won, an increase of 18 billion won, but other special accounts were prepared at 122.5 billion won, a decrease of 3.5 billion won due to the abolition of the Saemaeul Income Project Operation Special Account and the Long-term Unexecuted Urban Planning Special Account.

Looking at the expenditure budget by sector, 398.1 billion won is allocated to social welfare and health, 150.8 billion won to agriculture, forestry, marine and fisheries, 127 billion won to culture and tourism, 24.4 billion won to public order and safety, 71.1 billion won to environment, 34.7 billion won to industry, small and medium enterprises and energy, 168.2 billion won to national land, regional development, transportation and logistics, 79.4 billion won to general public administration and education, and 10.3 billion won to contingency funds.

Mayor Joo Nak-young of Gyeongju emphasized, "Through selective and focused financial management, we will boldly reduce repetitive and unnecessary projects through expenditure restructuring and prioritize projects that will be completed within next year," adding, "We will actively reflect the Gyeongju-type New Deal projects and promote policy projects suitable for our city."

Meanwhile, the 2021 budget plan is scheduled to be finally approved and confirmed on December 21 after review at the 2nd regular session of the 256th Gyeongju City Council to be held on the 30th of this month.

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