Gwanak-gu Allocates 96.1 Billion Won in 2nd Supplementary Budget to Overcome COVID-19 and Revitalize Local Economy

Small Business Support and Livelihood Economy Revitalization Projects, Vulnerable Group Assistance Initiatives... 13.9 Billion KRW Allocated for COVID-19 National Coexistence Support Fund... 14.6 Billion KRW Budgeted for Resident Convenience Improvement and Safety Management Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) submitted the 2021 2nd supplementary budget proposal of 96.1 billion KRW to the Gwanak-gu Council on the 13th, following the 9.2 billion KRW 1st supplementary budget in April.

Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, difficulties in the local economy continue, and the suffering of self-employed and vulnerable groups is intensifying. The district has prepared the 2nd supplementary budget to actively respond to COVID-19 and to resolve residents' inconveniences and risk factors throughout Gwanak-gu.

In particular, this supplementary budget plans to focus investments on four major areas: ▲ COVID-19 response ▲ revitalization of the local economy ▲ support for vulnerable groups ▲ resolution of residents' inconveniences and safety management.

First, 13.9 billion KRW was allocated as the district’s share for the COVID-19 coexistence national support fund to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, and payment will be carried out smoothly in consultation with quarantine authorities.

The district allocated a total of 19.4 billion KRW for COVID-19 response, including 3 billion KRW for disaster management funds to respond to unexpected quarantine demands, 200 million KRW for living treatment center facility fees, 1.9 billion KRW for COVID-19 living support expenses, and 300 million KRW for operating screening clinics.

A total of 3.5 billion KRW was allocated for revitalizing the local economy. In the second half of the year, the district plans to promote about 1,500 public jobs such as public work projects (1 billion KRW) and provide commercialization support funds (300 million KRW) to help venture companies develop markets and produce prototypes, aiming to overcome difficulties in the local economy.

To strengthen the self-sustainability of neighborhood commercial districts, the district will promote projects such as the Gwanak-style Artterior project (850 million KRW), traditional market modernization project (300 million KRW), smart supermarket development, and traditional market shopping district revitalization events to overcome the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 and support sales growth of small business owners.

Additionally, the district plans to carefully manage projects for vulnerable groups, including support for AI companion robots for low-income single disabled persons (80 million KRW), daycare center environment improvement and insect repellent device support (200 million KRW), elderly welfare facility environment improvement (100 million KRW), heating supplies support for single elderly during cold weather (30 million KRW), and happy sharing lunchbox support for young small business owners (100 million KRW).

Especially in the second half of the year, to create a safe city where all residents can live without anxiety from crime or accident risks, 14.6 billion KRW was prepared for resolving residents’ inconveniences and safety management, including projects such as relocating utility poles causing traffic inconvenience (500 million KRW), maintenance of aging roads (1 billion KRW), maintenance of Byeolbitnaerincheon resident evacuation facilities and river facilities (2 billion KRW), and installation and performance improvement of intelligent CCTV (820 million KRW).

Furthermore, 15.9 billion KRW was allocated for resident welfare projects supported by national and city subsidies to ensure smooth progress of subsidy projects in the second half of the year. The district also allocated 19.3 billion KRW for contingency funds and 3.6 billion KRW for the integrated financial stabilization fund to promote efficient disaster response and resource utilization in the second half of the year.

The district prepared the 2021 2nd supplementary budget proposal totaling 975.8 billion KRW, a 10.93% increase compared to the originally approved 879.7 billion KRW budget for 2021, and submitted it to the Gwanak-gu Council on the 13th, requesting deliberation.

Mayor Park Jun-hee of Gwanak-gu said, “Through this second large-scale supplementary budget, we will respond more actively to COVID-19, focus on rapid and strong economic recovery, and remove risk factors throughout Gwanak-gu to improve residents’ quality of life. Once the supplementary budget is approved by the council in September, we will execute it promptly to ensure smooth operation of district administration in the second half of the year.”

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