'Oh Se-hoon Budget' Passes City Council After Difficulties... Some Cuts Made

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The budget proposal containing the key projects promoted by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has passed the Seoul Metropolitan Council after much difficulty.

On the 2nd, the City Council approved the 2021 supplementary budget for Seoul at the final plenary session of the regular meeting. The supplementary budget includes projects such as the Seoul-type education platform 'SeoulRun' and the establishment of a Seoul-type healthcare system focusing on health management through smartwatches.

The Democratic Party, which holds 101 of the 110 seats in the City Council, opposed these projects, leading to their complete cut during the preliminary review stage by the standing committee. The Council's Budget and Accounts Special Committee held a total of three meetings for additional review, engaging in heated debates. Although 30 of the 33 committee members are Democratic Party councilors, it is reported that there was significant internal conflict.

Earlier, the Budget Committee held its last meeting three hours before the plenary session and approved a revised proposal that cut 1.835 billion KRW out of the 5.8 billion KRW budget for SeoulRun, while restoring the healthcare system budget. The cut portion of the SeoulRun budget pertains to the platform construction costs. The city plans to use the approved remaining budget as a stepping stone to first provide customized online content.

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