Gwangjin-gu Allocates 36.2 Billion KRW Supplementary Budget to Support Small Businesses... Gangnam-gu Returns Excess Tax Payments Nationwide First

[Seoul District News] Gwangjin-gu Allocates 14.8 Billion KRW for Quarantine Projects Including General Health Management Kits and Safe Accommodation Support for Home Treatment Patients; Issues Additional 10 Billion KRW in Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates and Allocates 2.2 Billion KRW for Local Economy Revitalization Including Textile Industry Support; Allocates 18.9 Billion KRW for COVID-19 Living Support and Major Accident Response; Gangnam-gu Conducts Full Taxpayer Survey from Jan 3 to Mar 11 with 259 Million KRW Refunds Without Separate Claims to Realize Active Tax Administration; Dongdaemun-gu Opens 2022 Housing Price Inspection and Opinion Submission; Jungnang-gu Provides Childbirth Cost Support for Disabled Families

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Seon-gap) has urgently prepared a supplementary budget proposal worth 36.2 billion KRW to transition the quarantine system in response to the spread of the Omicron variant.

This supplementary budget proposal amounts to 36.2 billion KRW, a 4.76% increase compared to the 760.8 billion KRW originally budgeted for 2022, funded by the 21.5 billion KRW surplus from 2021 and 14.7 billion KRW in national and city subsidies.

The district initially prepared the largest-ever main budget of 732.3 billion KRW, a 20.04% increase, aiming to enhance regional value, advance COVID-19 response, and revitalize local vitality.

However, due to changes in the quarantine situation caused by the spread of the Omicron variant, the district has prepared its first supplementary budget this year to cope with the situation.

First, to minimize blind spots in residents' health and safety due to changes in the quarantine system, 1.7 billion KRW will be allocated to support health management kits for home-treated general management group patients, and 1.9 billion KRW for COVID-19 response expenses.

Additionally, a total of 14.8 billion KRW related to the quarantine system transition has been urgently allocated, including 80 million KRW for safe accommodation support for families of home-treated patients and 11.1 billion KRW for disaster and emergency contingency funds for rapid response to COVID-19 disaster situations.

Furthermore, to support small business owners facing intensified difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and to revitalize the local economy, a total of 2.2 billion KRW will be invested.

The district will invest 1 billion KRW on its own to issue an additional 10 billion KRW worth of Gwangjin Love Gift Certificates. Support will also be promoted for the sewing industry and small business owners, which hold a significant share in Gwangjin-gu's manufacturing sector.

Accordingly, 300 million KRW has been allocated for the volume-based waste bag support project, 800 million KRW for the Smart Solution Anchor Project, and 20 million KRW for a survey on sewing companies.

In addition, linked with the government’s supplementary budget, 17.7 billion KRW has been reflected for COVID-19 living expenses payments, and 1.2 billion KRW will be invested in facility improvements and major accident response projects for residents' safety.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, said, “In transitioning the COVID-19 quarantine system, we will prioritize residents' health and safety and actively respond by deploying all capabilities to revive the stagnant local economy.” He added, “Through this supplementary budget proposal, we will actively identify blind spots in government and Seoul city policies, respond swiftly and flexibly to disaster situations, and do our best to help residents return to normal life as soon as possible.”

The 2022 budget proposal will be reviewed and approved at the 251st Gwangjin-gu Council extraordinary session and finalized on March 25.

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jung Soon-gyun) has become the first exemplary case nationwide to proactively protect taxpayers' rights by automatically refunding overpaid taxes without requiring separate claims from taxpayers.

From January to March 11, Gangnam-gu conducted a full investigation and immediate refund of overpaid taxes, returning 259 million KRW across 901 cases.

This nationwide first proactive tax administration involved the district meticulously investigating the appropriateness of acquisition tax reported and paid by taxpayers, property tax imposed by tax authorities, and tax amounts, and issuing refunds ex officio.

Previously, acquisition tax refunds required taxpayers to file correction claims, but this year the district conducted a full investigation of over 5,000 cases by tax type and refunded the excess amounts.

For property tax, which is imposed tax, taxpayers could dispute refunds through objections, but Gangnam-gu checked over 30,000 registered rental properties’ five-year data individually following the government's real estate policy announced in July 2020, and issued refunds ex officio.

Jung Soon-gyun, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, said, “Protecting taxpayers' rights is as important as tax collection activities,” adding, “We hope this first government-led tax refund will help residents realize that tax administration involves not only additional collection but also refunds.” He further stated, “We will continue to build Gangnam as the top city setting an example for other local governments through empathetic administration that enhances resident satisfaction and trust.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) will conduct a public inspection of individual and apartment housing prices. The price reference date is January 1, 2022, and the inspection targets are houses approved for use by December 31, 2021.

Individual housing prices can be viewed from March 22, and apartment housing prices from March 24, by visiting the Dongdaemun-gu Taxation Division or local community service centers, or through the Real Estate Public Price Notification website.

Homeowners or other interested parties who have opinions on the housing prices can submit their opinions by filling out an opinion submission form with the proposed price and reasons, and submitting it in person to the Dongdaemun-gu Taxation Division. Opinions can also be submitted by mail (2nd floor, Taxation Division, Dongdaemun-gu Office, 145 Cheonho-daero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul), fax, or via the Real Estate Public Price Notification website.

The deadline for inspection and opinion submission is April 11 for individual houses and April 12 by 6 p.m. for apartments.

Submitted opinions on individual housing prices will be verified by the Korea Real Estate Board and reviewed and decided by the Dongdaemun-gu Real Estate Price Public Notification Committee. Results will be individually notified to those who submitted opinions by April 22. For more details, contact the Dongdaemun-gu Taxation Division.

Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Gyeong-gi) will provide up to 1.5 million KRW in childbirth cost support to families with disabilities who face significant financial burdens during pregnancy and childbirth.

The childbirth cost support project for families with disabilities aims to reduce economic burdens and help stabilize lives by providing financial support for childbirth costs from pregnancy through delivery to disabled individuals facing heavy financial burdens.

According to the Disabled Welfare Act, female disabled persons registered as disabled or spouses of male disabled persons who gave birth (including natural miscarriage and stillbirth) after January 1, 2021, can apply for childbirth cost support.

Families with disabilities who gave birth or experienced natural miscarriage or stillbirth can receive 1 million KRW per fetus. However, in cases of miscarriage or stillbirth, support is only available if the pregnancy lasted at least four months. Families residing in Jungnang-gu for more than one year as of the birth date receive an additional 500,000 KRW support only upon childbirth.

Residents wishing to apply should prepare identification, application forms, and other documents and visit their local community service center within one year after childbirth.

Ryu Gyeong-gi, Mayor of Jungnang-gu, said, “We hope this childbirth cost support project will ease the economic burden on families with disabilities even a little,” adding, “We will continue to discover welfare policies that provide practical help to disabled people.”

Besides childbirth cost support, the district is also committed to disability welfare through projects such as supporting sports activities for people with developmental disabilities and housing convenience support for low-income disabled individuals.

Gangseo-gu, Seoul (Mayor Noh Hyun-song) operates adult literacy classes for adults who missed educational opportunities.

According to the National Institute for Lifelong Education’s adult literacy ability survey, about 2 million adults aged 18 and over in South Korea have difficulty with basic reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The district has prepared literacy classes for adults to provide opportunities to learn Hangul and improve quality of life for illiterate and low-education adults.

Classes are divided according to student levels into Hangul Beginner Class (elementary grades 1-2 level), Hangul Intermediate Class (grades 3-4 level), and Hangul Advanced Class (grades 5-6 level), recruiting 45, 45, and 15 students respectively, totaling 105 students.

Starting April 18, the course includes participation in the nationwide adult literacy education poetry contest in June, digital literacy learning in October, and completion in December.

In addition to elementary-level Hangul classes, digital education such as kiosk usage for digitally vulnerable groups will also be provided.

Tuition and textbooks are free, and classes are conducted in real-time online using smartphones. For students who have difficulty using smartphones, one-on-one smartphone usage training will be provided.

Depending on COVID-19 spread and government quarantine guidelines, classes may switch to in-person. If so, education will be held at five community centers (Gonghang-dong, Balsan 1-dong, Yeomchang-dong, Hwagokbon-dong, Hwagok 4-dong).

Any adult wishing to learn Hangul can apply by calling the Gangseo-gu Education Support Division by April 8. Applications will close on a first-come, first-served basis if there are many applicants.

Recruitment and education schedules can be checked on the Gangseo Lifelong Learning Center website (homepage) under announcements.

A district official said, “We hope this education helps illiterate adults acquire Hangul, making life more convenient and enabling greater social participation,” and encouraged “many residents interested in Hangul education to participate.”

An image of conducting kiosk training for elderly people

Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) will conduct a ‘Literacy Education Support Program Contest’ for illiterate and low-education adults from the 25th to the 29th of this month.

This contest reflects the demand for digital fields such as smart device and kiosk usage as non-face-to-face interaction becomes a social trend, and will be conducted in three areas: basic literacy, daily literacy, and digital literacy.

Eligible applicants include schools and other public institutions, nonprofit lifelong education facilities, nonprofit corporations, private organizations, and cooperatives. Each institution or organization may apply for only one program in one area. The district plans to support selected programs with about 5 million KRW each for instructor fees, textbook costs, and other expenses.

Program operation time is based on a minimum of 50 hours, with a minimum of 10 learners. However, programs targeting disabled persons may have about 10 learners.

Institutions or organizations wishing to apply should complete the application form available on the district website and submit it in person to the Citizen Education Division by the 29th. Results will be announced on the Eunpyeong-gu website in April after review by the judging committee and individual notifications will be sent.

For more details about the literacy education support program contest, contact the Citizen Education Division.

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