Confirmed COVID-19 Case Among Seoul Budget Department Staff... Seoul Metropolitan Council's New Year Budget Review Delayed Again

Seoul Metropolitan Council Budget Committee to Hold Full Meeting at 11 AM on the 14th to Review 2022 Budget Proposal, Postponed Indefinitely Due to COVID-19 Positive Case in Seoul Budget Office Staff

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council was scheduled to hold a Budget and Accounts Committee meeting at 11 a.m. on the 14th to review the 2022 budget proposal, but it was postponed again due to a confirmed COVID-19 case.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council Budget and Accounts Committee postponed the new year’s budget review last week after a large number of senior officials from the Seoul City Urban Transportation Committee tested positive for COVID-19.

The council planned to resume the review from 11 a.m. on the 14th, considering that further delays would make budget deliberation difficult.

However, the review was indefinitely postponed again after a staff member from the Seoul City Budget Division was confirmed positive that morning.

As a result, it has become uncertain whether the legal deadline will be met.

In response to this situation, the Seoul Metropolitan Council Budget and Accounts Committee issued a statement criticizing the public service discipline of Seoul city officials.

The committee criticized that the review of next year’s Seoul city budget, originally scheduled for January 6-8, was delayed for nearly a week due to a cluster infection involving the Administrative Vice Mayor and Seoul City Hall staff, and now the resumption of the review was canceled due to a confirmed case among the Budget Division staff, the department in charge.

The committee expressed strong concern and regret over the repeated suspension of the budget review caused by continuous COVID-19 infections among public officials, and urged Seoul city to establish “thorough public service discipline” in relation to the ongoing infections among city officials.

Previously, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Council Basic Ordinance, the Budget and Accounts Committee had significantly reduced the number of public officials required to attend the budget review to 60% or less (28 attendees out of 71), maximized social distancing in the meeting room, strictly followed quarantine guidelines including disinfection, temperature checks, ventilation every hour, and provision of hand sanitizers, preparing for any emergencies. Committee members reportedly minimized external contacts such as local schedules to avoid disruptions to the committee’s schedule.

Kim Ho-pyeong, Chair of the Budget and Accounts Committee (Democratic Party, Gwangjin 3), sharply criticized the unprecedented suspension of the budget review, saying it reflected “a lack of urgency among Seoul city executives, including Mayor Oh Se-hoon, in handling next year’s budget.” He emphasized that in the emergency situation where daily confirmed cases are in the 7,000 range, a more serious sense of crisis was necessary, and that the repeated infections among public officials should not have led to uncertainty in the budget approval process.

Another committee member also pointed out Seoul city’s complacent response. He strongly criticized that “while Seoul city loudly declared a zero-tolerance policy for facilities violating quarantine rules, it neglected to establish internal public service discipline,” and that the infections among public officials held hostage the budget for citizens’ livelihood support.

In fact, Seoul city has earned the dishonor of recording the highest number of confirmed cases among local governments nationwide due to this incident.

Another committee member pointed out that despite the unprecedented emergency of the budget review suspension, Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who accompanied a presidential candidate on a field visit, was criticized, saying, “What is important now is not accompanying a presidential candidate but establishing public service discipline and promptly normalizing the budget review process,” and questioned whether he is the mayor of 10 million Seoul citizens or a promotional assistant for a presidential candidate.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council Budget and Accounts Committee urged Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Seoul city once again to take thorough measures to prevent further infections among public officials and to cooperate comprehensively for the approval of the budget within this year.

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