Seoul City's '4.2 Trillion' Supplementary Budget Focused on Livelihood, Safety, and Urban Future Sectors

Expansion of Youth Monthly Rent Support from 5,000 to 27,000 People, 2 Trillion Won Interest-Free and Guarantee-Free Loan Support for Small Business Owners
Full-Scale Customized Measures for Single-Person Households, Pilot of 40 Seoul-Style Shared Daycare Centers...Abolition of Support Obligation Criteria for Seoul-Style Basic Security
Installation of 155 CCTV Units in Hangang Parks, Support for Launch of Autonomous Police System

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has prepared an additional supplementary budget of 4.237 trillion KRW and will focus investments on 11 major tasks across three key areas: livelihood recovery, safety and security, and the city's future. The target for youth monthly rent support will be significantly increased from 5,000 to 27,000 people, while interest-free and guarantee-free loans worth 2 trillion KRW will be provided to small business owners. Customized measures for single-person households and the installation of new CCTV systems in Hangang Park are also planned.

On the 25th, Seoul announced that it has prepared a supplementary budget proposal of 4.237 trillion KRW for the 'Seoul Rebound' initiative to lay the groundwork for overcoming the livelihood and quarantine crises caused by COVID-19. With this supplementary budget, Seoul's total budget for this year will increase by 10.5% from the original budget of 40.4124 trillion KRW to 44.6494 trillion KRW. The city submitted the supplementary budget proposal to the Seoul Metropolitan Council on the same day and requested deliberation.

Based on the original budget exceeding 40 trillion KRW, Seoul plans to invest intensively in 11 major tasks across three key areas: 336 billion KRW for livelihood recovery, 500.8 billion KRW for safety and security, and 402.9 billion KRW for the city's future. This decision comes amid ongoing sporadic community infections of COVID-19 and persistent difficulties in the livelihood economy due to sluggish domestic demand and employment, affecting self-employed and vulnerable groups.

Financial investment projects include statutory mandatory expenses such as transfers to autonomous districts and education offices (1.574 trillion KRW), and the integrated fiscal stabilization fund (887.9 billion KRW), totaling 3.0621 trillion KRW, excluding supplementary budget reductions (-64.8 billion KRW). The supplementary budget resources will be procured from the 2020 fiscal year settlement surplus (3.677 trillion KRW), national subsidies (224.8 billion KRW), local allocation tax (11.7 billion KRW), non-tax revenue (-23 billion KRW), compensation income, and internal transactions (346.5 billion KRW).

First, Seoul will focus on youth, small business owners, and housing supply foundations. The city will invest 17.9 billion KRW to increase the number of youth monthly rent support recipients from 5,000 annually last year to 27,000 annually this year. This support provides up to 200,000 KRW per month for a maximum of 10 months to single-person youth households with incomes below 120% of the median income, representing more than a fivefold increase in beneficiaries. For the policy to purchase 220 private rental units in station-area youth housing and supply them as public rental housing at below-market rates, 2.5 billion KRW has been allocated, and 17.6 billion KRW is assigned for housing cost support for station-area youth housing. Additionally, 300 million KRW will be newly invested to build an AI chatbot service that allows youth to check and apply for support information related to housing, welfare, childcare, employment, and startups all in one place.

For small business owners struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, 2 trillion KRW worth of interest-free and guarantee-free loans will be provided, and 2.5 billion KRW will be invested to newly support group subscriptions to private accident insurance for approximately 23,000 platform delivery workers. The interest-free and guarantee-free loan support expands the loan program launched earlier this year by adding an additional 1 trillion KRW, allowing loans of up to 100 million KRW per business for one year without interest. This is expected to be a timely support for small business owners urgently needing operating funds. Furthermore, a service contract will be initiated to establish plans for revitalizing small-scale housing maintenance projects in aging low-rise residential areas. Seoul plans to select six redevelopment and reconstruction project sites that have been stagnant and prepare preliminary public planning proposals to normalize maintenance projects.

Loss compensation will be provided to public transportation operating facilities suffering from reduced transportation revenue due to COVID-19. To support small business owners hit by COVID-19, 17.9 billion KRW will be newly allocated to temporarily reduce water charges for six months, and rent reductions will be applied to small business owners occupying public commercial spaces such as subway shops and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) properties to alleviate fixed cost burdens.

A comprehensive safety welfare network will also be activated. To expand COVID-19 daily quarantine measures, 159.4 billion KRW will be invested in quarantine policies. To fully implement Mayor Oh Se-hoon's first pledge, 'Support for Single-Person Households,' new funds will be secured to support hospital accompaniment services for single-person households and install door watchers for safety-vulnerable single-person households. Additionally, 'Safe Village Security Guards' will be deployed in areas densely populated by single female households, and cluster-type housing model development will begin targeting middle-aged single-person households. Seoul-type smart bands enabling self-directed health management will be newly distributed to 50,000 citizens. The 'Seoul-type Shared Daycare Centers' will also start pilot operations at 40 locations.

Seoul has newly allocated 3.8 billion KRW to install additional CCTV cameras at 155 locations in Hangang Park to reduce safety blind spots. The city selected 155 points requiring management to respond to crime and safety accidents and plans to complete CCTV installation by the end of the year. In particular, 40 smart poles equipped with emergency bells and speakers for emergency transmission and reception will be installed at key points to prepare for urgent situations. Furthermore, 74 aging subway cars on lines 5 and 8 will be replaced, and air quality improvement devices will be installed on platforms and inside trains on lines 1 through 9. Firefighting equipment such as old radios will also be replaced. The budget necessary for the official launch of autonomous police operation support in early July has also been reflected.

Moreover, investments will be expanded to strengthen Seoul's future and urban competitiveness. Seoul has begun a planning service to create a 7 km 'National Symbolic Street' connecting Gwanghwamun, Yongsan, and the Hangang River in conjunction with the new Gwanghwamun Plaza. In cooperation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Airports Corporation, planning has also started for the complex development of Gimpo Airport and its surrounding area as an aviation industry logistics hub. The city will add 95% of the scheduled electric vehicle supply for this year and expand charging infrastructure.

Hwang Bo-yeon, Director of Planning and Coordination at Seoul City, said, "This supplementary budget proposal focuses on three key areas: livelihood recovery, safety and security, and the city's future. It aims to overcome the crises of quarantine and livelihood and lay the foundation for the city's rebound. Once the supplementary budget is approved by the city council, we will promptly execute it to contribute to improving the quality of life for Seoul citizens and enhancing urban competitiveness."

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