Yongsan-gu Prepares 48.2 Billion KRW Supplementary Budget for Livelihood Stability and COVID-19 Response

482 Billion KRW (General Account 47.1 Billion KRW, Special Account 1.1 Billion KRW) for Livelihood Stability, COVID-19 Response, and Future Preparedness... District Mayor Seonghyun Growth: "We Will Prepare for the Post-COVID Era"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongjang Hyun) has prepared the 2021 first supplementary budget plan amounting to 48.2 billion KRW (4.71 billion KRW in the general account, 110 million KRW in the special account) and submitted it to the Yongsan-gu Council.

This is to help small business owners and vulnerable groups struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to respond more flexibly to changing circumstances.

The key investment areas are broadly divided into three categories: livelihood stabilization measures, COVID-19 response, and future preparedness.

In the livelihood stabilization sector, there is support for alleyway commercial district survival funds (3 billion KRW), local commercial district revitalization support (200 million KRW), and housing benefits (4.1 billion KRW).

In particular, the alleyway commercial district survival fund support is based on Article 5-4 (Disaster Occurrence Support) of the “Yongsan-gu Ordinance on Support for Small Business Owners,” under which the district plans to provide 1 million KRW to 600 businesses subject to gathering restrictions and 600,000 KRW each to 4,000 alleyway commercial district businesses.

The district also partially supports costs for small business owners preparing to start a business and for landlords who have reduced rents (so-called “good landlords”). A budget of 80 million KRW was allocated for startup support funds and 105 million KRW for good landlord support funds.

In the COVID-19 response sector, notable increases include contingency funds for disaster and emergency purposes (6 billion KRW) and disaster management funds (2 billion KRW). The contingency funds are intended to appropriately respond to unforeseen unavoidable expenditures, with the district keeping in mind possible changes in the COVID-19 situation in the second half of the year.

Future preparedness investments are also being made comprehensively.

First, IoT sensors (675 units) will be installed at 135 hazardous facilities within the district to create a safety management system and enable continuous monitoring. The project was selected in a Ministry of the Interior and Safety public contest, securing part of the project cost (800 million KRW out of 1.8 billion KRW) as national funding.

Elevators will be installed at Hannam Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. The total project cost is 4.1 billion KRW, and in October last year, the district and the Korea National Railway Corporation signed an agreement to share the budget equally (2.05 billion KRW each). The detailed design is currently underway, and construction will begin in the second half of the year.

Old sewage pipelines in the areas of Huam-dong Saenara Children's Park, Sinheung-ro 93, and Wonhyo-ro 89-gil 24 will also be refurbished. A budget of 2.4 billion KRW was allocated for earthwork, pipeline construction, and waste disposal costs.

Other major investment projects include the establishment of a smart platform at the Youth Training Center (950 million KRW) and a feasibility study for housing redevelopment projects (600 million KRW).

The existing 2021 district budget was 525.9 billion KRW (494.2 billion KRW in the general account, 31.7 billion KRW in the special account). The supplementary budget plan will be reviewed and approved through the 265th first regular session of the Yongsan-gu Council, held from June 1 to 22.

Seongjang Hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Through the supplementary budget, we will help small business owners in the district who are struggling due to COVID-19 and refurbish aging urban infrastructure. The district will do its best to prepare ahead for the post-COVID-19 era.”

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