Dongdaemun-gu Saves 900 Million Won in Budget Through Active Contract Review

Enhancing Budget Execution Efficiency and Contract Quality through Preliminary Review... Daily Audits and Contract Reviews to Strengthen Practical Skills and Establish Fiscal Soundness

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor You Deok-yeol) saved 989 million KRW in budget last year through pre-contract review and routine audits.

The district operates contract reviews and routine audits concurrently to strengthen the practical cost calculation skills of ordering and review officials, calculate appropriate costs, and establish fiscal soundness.

Contract review is a system that pre-examines the method of preparing cost calculations and the application of standard market prices when contracts exceed certain amounts (30 million KRW for construction, 15 million KRW for services, 8 million KRW for goods).

Routine audits pre-examine the appropriateness of contract methods and procedures, the validity and necessity of project plans, etc., preventing budget waste factors that are difficult to correct or remedy through post-audits, thereby reducing trial and error.

Last year, Dongdaemun-gu conducted 501 contract reviews (143 construction, 126 services, 175 goods, 57 design changes) amounting to 47.609 billion KRW, achieving a savings rate of 2.1%.

In detail, construction and design changes accounted for the largest savings of 868 million KRW (200 cases), followed by goods at 83 million KRW (175 cases), and services at 38 million KRW (126 cases).

The saved budget is reinvested in major projects, enhancing budget execution efficiency and contributing to the sound operation of local finances.

A Dongdaemun-gu official explained, “Recently, administrative staff increasingly handle construction-related tasks such as facility work, so routine audits and contract reviews not only reduce errors occurring during work but also improve staff practical skills through continuous education and information provision.”

Last year, the district conducted practical cost calculation training for employees in charge of ordering construction, services, and goods. This year, they plan to enhance job expertise through biannual practical training on cost calculation preparation and vivid case-centered education.

You Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “I hope the budget saved through cost reviews will be reinvested to revitalize the frozen local economy and contribute to overcoming the COVID-19 crisis. We will continue to improve budget execution efficiency and contract quality through active contract reviews and routine audits during major project implementation to contribute to improving the quality of life for residents.”

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