Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 70.6649 Trillion Won Budget Confirmed for Next Year... Increased Funding for Local Love Gift Certificates and Small Business Support

▲Focused Investment in Four Key Areas: Regional Vitality Enhancement and Balanced Development, Preventive Disaster Safety Management, Digital-Based Government Innovation, and Social Integration and Inclusive Nation
Increased by 491.6 Billion KRW Compared to Initial Government Plan... 23%↑ Compared to This Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's budget for next year was finalized at 70.6649 trillion won, an increase of 13.2198 trillion won compared to this year, through the National Assembly plenary session resolution on the 3rd. The Ministry's budget for next year consists of 65.056 trillion won in local allocation tax, which is a core autonomous revenue source for local governments, 5.2327 trillion won in project expenses, and 376.2 billion won in basic expenses and personnel costs.

On the day, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that as a result of efforts during the National Assembly budget review process to fully recover daily life and livelihoods from the COVID-19 crisis, 28 projects including local love gift certificates, financial support for small business owners, and support for the autonomous police system were increased, raising the budget by 491.5 billion won compared to the original government proposal. The project budget will be focused on four major areas: ▲enhancing regional vitality and balanced development ▲preventive disaster safety management ▲digital-based government innovation ▲social integration and inclusive nation.

The finalized budget increased the local love gift certificate issuance support budget by 365 billion won from the government proposal of 240.3 billion won to 605.3 billion won, and additionally reflected 2 billion won for the second compensation project for small business owners. To strengthen local quarantine and provide jobs for vulnerable groups during the phased recovery of daily life, 17.3 billion won was newly allocated for the local quarantine job project, and 13 billion won was newly allocated to support the smooth establishment of city and provincial autonomous police committees following the full implementation of the autonomous police system.

The budget for flood and windstorm insurance supporting facility damage caused by natural disasters was increased by 3.2 billion won from the government proposal to 25.4 billion won, and the budget for constructing the third government integrated data center to improve IT work efficiency and strengthen data security was increased by 37.5 billion won from the government proposal of 15.1 billion won to 52.6 billion won.

The budget for leading digital transformation, activating public participation, and expanding customized services was also significantly expanded. To flexibly respond to rapidly changing digital demands and improve work efficiency, the administrative and public institution information system cloud transition project was finalized at 240.2 billion won, an increase of 183.2 billion won from this year, with plans to fully transition public information systems to the cloud by 2025. To facilitate the exercise of the constitutional right to petition and enhance the objectivity and fairness of petition processing, 3.1 billion won was newly allocated for the establishment of an online petition system.

Promoting social integration through healing and recovery and expanding the budget for resolving historical issues will lead the realization of an inclusive and cooperative nation. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety newly allocated 181 billion won in compensation for victims of the Jeju 4·3 Incident following the revision of the Jeju 4·3 Incident Act and the enactment of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident Act, and an additional 4.3 billion won was reflected during the National Assembly review process for the operation expenses of the committee for fact-finding and restoring the honor of victims of the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said, "The 2022 Ministry of the Interior and Safety budget will serve as a catalyst for overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, phased recovery of daily life, regional balanced development, and revitalization of the livelihood economy," adding, "We will ensure it is effectively used to promote regional economic vitality, preventive and proactive disaster safety management, and government innovation that citizens can feel."

He continued, "In particular, we will thoroughly prepare for early budget execution from the first half of the year, link the Local Extinction Response Fund with existing national subsidy projects and local government projects to enhance effectiveness, and strive to make it tangible to the public."

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