Seoul Metropolitan Council Budget and Accounts Special Committee Chairperson Elected: Democratic Party's Lee Byung-do

The Seoul Metropolitan Council elected Assemblyman Lee Byung-do (Democratic Party, Eunpyeong 2) as the chairman of the Budget and Accounts Special Committee, which will review and approve the 2024 budgets of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, at the 321st regular session held on November 20.

Chairman Lee Byung-do is a two-term member of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (10th and 11th terms). He previously served as the vice chairman of the Budget and Accounts Special Committee from September 2020 to September 2021 and was also a member of the committee from September 2021 to June 2022.

Moreover, he has been active in the Health and Welfare Committee and the Planning and Economy Committee, and is currently serving as a member of the Urban Planning and Balance Committee (since July 2022), demonstrating his expertise in major financial issues of Seoul.

Chairman Lee Byung-do shared the view that the economic outlook for next year is not optimistic, as the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the Bank of England (BOE) continue their interest rate hike policies, and global credit rating agencies have announced that next year’s global economic growth rate is expected to be lower than this year’s forecast of 2.4%. Additionally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected South Korea’s economic growth rate at 1.4% in its October report, indicating a bleak economic outlook and a likely increased burden on the ordinary citizens’ economy.

Furthermore, the 2024 budget bill submitted by the government to the National Assembly on September 1 amounts to 656.9 trillion KRW, a 2.8% increase from this year’s budget. However, the education sector’s budget was cut by 6.6 trillion KRW, and the general and local administration budgets were also reduced. In particular, local allocation tax was cut by 8.5 trillion KRW, leading to an analysis that the financial situation of both the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will be relatively more difficult than this year.

Chairman Lee Byung-do forecasted that when comparing the 2024 budget proposal to the 2023 original budget, Seoul’s budget is reduced by 1.4675 trillion KRW, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s budget is also cut by 1.7309 trillion KRW, indicating that the process of balancing financial conditions with citizens’ needs will not be smooth.

In particular, for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the local financial allocation from the Ministry of Education in the 2024 budget proposal submitted by the government decreased by 6.3725 trillion KRW compared to this year’s 68.8 trillion KRW, resulting in a 634.1 billion KRW reduction in central government transfer income.

For Seoul city as well, local tax revenue is budgeted at 24.2352 trillion KRW, a reduction of 646.5 billion KRW compared to the 2023 original budget of 24.8817 trillion KRW, clearly indicating a need for tighter fiscal management than in 2023.

However, Chairman Lee Byung-do stated that despite the difficult financial conditions, citizens’ demands in welfare, economy, safety, and climate crisis sectors are increasing, making large-scale budget allocations in these areas inevitable. He outlined a budget review direction that involves negotiating with executing agencies during the budget examination process to secure available resources through adjustments in revenues and expenditures within feasible limits and to prepare measures for fiscal stabilization.

Finally, Chairman Lee Byung-do promised that the budget review process involves thoroughly examining the content and funding of projects submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. All thirty-three members of the Budget and Accounts Special Committee will rigorously assess not only the necessity and validity of projects but also their feasibility for execution within the year, committing to fulfilling their role as vigilant guardians of the finances entrusted by the citizens of Seoul.

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