Gyeonggi-do Issues Statement Urging "Provincial Council to Swiftly Approve Emergency Supplementary Budget for Livelihood"

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province urged the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, which is facing a deadlock ahead of the approval of the second supplementary budget, to promptly process the supplementary budget for public welfare.

On the 21st, Gyeonggi Province issued a statement titled "We earnestly request the prompt approval of the supplementary budget for public welfare," saying, "Gyeonggi Province prepared the necessary budget for the recovery of the local economy and residents' welfare projects as the 2022 second supplementary budget and submitted it to the Gyeonggi Provincial Council on September 8. However, even after more than a month, the second supplementary budget has not been approved, raising serious concerns about significant damage to residents' welfare and the recovery of the local economy."

It added, "If this supplementary budget is not passed, major public welfare projects and national subsidy projects for residents cannot be executed, and severe confusion is expected in year-end project implementation due to a shortage of funds caused by decreased tax revenue."

The province first explained, "This supplementary budget includes essential funds such as 38.5 billion KRW for issuing local currency to boost sales and consumption of small business owners, 11.4 billion KRW for refinancing loans to support low-credit and low-income individuals using high-interest loans, 12.1 billion KRW for infertility treatment support projects to overcome low birth rates, 20 billion KRW for the long-delayed SOC project of expanding Hwado~Unsu in Namyangju, and 1.2 billion KRW for the GTX Plus feasibility study to expand metropolitan transportation infrastructure. Without the council's approval, these crucial public welfare projects to alleviate residents' difficulties cannot be carried out," emphasizing the importance of the budget.

It also stated, "If the budget is not approved, it will be difficult to execute national subsidy projects jointly funded by the state and local governments, such as infant care fees, emergency welfare, and Happy Housing construction projects. To smoothly carry out these national subsidy projects, it is necessary to secure the local government budget required for the projects through this supplementary budget," stressing the need for approval.

In particular, it warned, "In the worst-case scenario where local government funds required for national subsidy projects are not secured, related projects may be suspended or some support may not be received by the end of this year. Additionally, there could be cases of returning national funds or cuts in next year's budget, which would further worsen the already difficult financial conditions of the province."

Furthermore, it pointed out, "Due to the real estate transaction freeze, tax revenue this year is expected to decrease by 1.6 trillion KRW compared to the original budget. This second supplementary budget includes adjustments to project costs in preparation for such circumstances, but if it is not processed in time, some projects may face suspension due to budget shortages by the end of this year."

Therefore, the province strongly appealed, "This supplementary budget is a public welfare supplementary budget to support residents who are in an emergency economic situation despite difficult financial conditions. We urge the Gyeonggi Provincial Council to promptly review and approve the budget for the public welfare supplementary budget."

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