Next Year's Ministry of the Interior and Safety Budget Set at 68.4844 Trillion Won... 19% Increase Planned

Focused Investments in Regional Vitality, Public Safety, Digital and Government Innovation, and Inclusive Nation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 1st that next year's budget has been set at 68.4844 trillion won, an increase of 19.2% compared to this year. The increase amounts to 11.6127 trillion won. This Ministry of the Interior and Safety budget plan is expected to be finalized at the end of this year after review by the National Assembly.

The Ministry allocated 1.7035 trillion won to respond to local extinction due to population decline at the level of a demographic cliff and to recover the local livelihood economy, which has been struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. To enable local governments to actively and effectively respond to the crisis of local extinction, a new Local Extinction Response Fund of 750 billion won was established, and 4.7 billion won was allocated to support the 'Island Promotion Agency,' scheduled to be established in September this year.

Through preventive, proactive safety management and the establishment of ICT-based disaster safety systems, rapid recovery will be supported, and the social safety net will be strengthened broadly and deeply. The Ministry has allocated 604.2 billion won to maintain steep slopes, reservoirs, and sewage pipelines in areas where flooding and collapse damage caused by natural disasters such as typhoons and heavy rains are frequent or expected to be risky. In addition, the support rate for flood and wind insurance premiums related to private property damage such as houses, greenhouses, and stores caused by typhoons and heavy rains will be increased, and the budget has been increased to 22.2 billion won to expand the disaster safety net.

To successfully implement the Korean New Deal projects and invest in future innovation, focused investment will be made in digital New Deal sectors such as big data and artificial intelligence. By transitioning to the cloud, the security of public sector information systems will be strengthened, and improvements will be made to respond to urgent administrative demands. According to the Korean New Deal plan, information systems will be 100% transitioned to the cloud by 2025. Accordingly, the budget, which was 57 billion won this year, has been increased to 240.2 billion won. A new budget of 3.1 billion won has also been allocated for the establishment of an online petition system to improve the convenience of exercising the public's online petition rights and to strengthen the objectivity and fairness of petition processing.

Furthermore, projects aimed at resolving past historical issues that resonate with the public and promoting social integration will be expanded to lead the realization of an inclusive society. A National Violence Trauma Healing Center will be established to support the psychological and physical healing and recovery to a healthy life of victims and bereaved families who suffered from state violence. Additionally, projects such as the construction of the Democracy and Human Rights Memorial Hall will be promoted to transform the former Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office area, a symbolic space of past human rights oppression, into a place for human rights education and to foster democratic citizenship awareness.

Vice Minister Ko Gyu-chang said, “The 2022 budget plan focuses on revitalizing the local economy to actively respond to COVID-19, government innovation that the public can feel, and proactive disaster safety management,” adding, “We will do our best during the National Assembly review stage to ensure that the major projects of the government proposal are reflected.”

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