Songpa-gu Confirms 2024 Main Budget of 1.2083 Trillion Won... Creation of Songpadaero Premium Street

Efficient Resource Allocation to Improve Residents' Quality of Life... Focus on Creating Premium Street on Songpa-daero, Strengthening Welfare Policies, and Establishing Cultural and Sports City Infrastructure

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that the 2024 budget has been finalized at 1.2083 trillion KRW.

The finalized 2024 revenue and expenditure budget represents an increase of 33.1 billion KRW, about 2.8%, compared to 1.1752 trillion KRW in 2023. Most of the increase comes from government and Seoul city subsidies, while local tax revenues such as property tax have significantly decreased.

To realize the 8th term of the elected administration’s vision of “Songpa, a premium city serving residents as owners,” Songpa-gu has efficiently allocated the budget focusing on enhancing the quality of life for residents by developing Songpadaero, a representative street of Seoul and Korea’s Champs-?lys?es, strengthening welfare for different groups such as low birthrate, elderly, and disabled, and promoting cultural life and community sports for residents.

Looking into the details of Songpa-gu’s 2024 budget, first, 154.3 billion KRW has been allocated for creating a premium city and maintaining a pleasant urban environment, including safety, transportation, environment, and urban infrastructure management.

To create a representative street of Seoul, projects to make Songpadaero a landmark will be actively promoted, including the Seokchon Lake Media Forest, road reorganization of Songpadaero, and the construction of the Jamsil Hosugyo observatory rest area. Seasonal flower pots and flower beds will be installed at major roads and bus stops to create a vibrant cityscape where flowers bloom all year round, allowing residents to feel happiness with flowers in their daily lives within their living areas in 2024 as well.

Additionally, park facility maintenance projects and additional installation of security CCTV will be carried out to create a pleasant and safe urban environment. Support will continue to ensure stable operation of village buses opened in 2023 to improve transportation convenience. The unmanned parking system construction project, initiated in 2023, will be expanded to create a more convenient transportation environment.

Furthermore, urban infrastructure management in road and flood control sectors will be strengthened through repairs and reinforcement of structures such as the Pungnap Retention Basin covering structure, solidifying the urban safety system. Administrative support such as safety inspections will be actively promoted to expedite reconstruction and redevelopment projects for aging housing.

Next, 716.9 billion KRW, accounting for 59.3% of the total budget, has been allocated for welfare, health, jobs, and small business support.

New support programs for postpartum care expenses and mom-and-dad taxi fees have been introduced, infertility treatment support expanded, kids cafes established, and public daycare centers opened to strengthen policies addressing low birthrate and childcare. Resources have been carefully distributed for elderly policies responding to an aging society, including new snack expenses for senior centers and the opening of the Munjeong Senior Welfare Center. In addition, health and medical services will be enhanced through strengthened food radiation safety management related to the discharge of radioactive contaminated water from Japanese nuclear power plants and the introduction of emergency first aid education for residents.

In the employment sector, new support for language and qualification exam fees for unemployed youth, Seoul-type New Deal jobs, and operation of the Employment Success 19 Day program will be implemented to create jobs for all age groups. To support small businesses, projects to revitalize traditional markets, issuance of 30 billion KRW worth of Songpa Love Gift Certificates, and financial loan support for small and medium enterprises will be actively pursued.

282 billion KRW has been allocated for a cultural and sports city that enriches residents’ lives. Seasonal sports for children will be available at the Olympic Park Peace Plaza, with a water play area in summer and a sledding hill in winter. Higher-quality cultural and artistic performances will be held quarterly. New sports facilities will be created at the Jamsil Retention Basin, and additional loess trails will be developed to meet growing interest in health management, enabling all residents to enjoy cultural and sports activities close to their living areas.

Moreover, the new art gallery, a cultural landmark at Seokchon Lake, will be opened, and support for local artists will be significantly strengthened to further solidify Songpa-gu’s cultural and artistic foundation. Hosting local cultural festivals such as the Hanseong Baekje Cultural Festival, Cherry Blossom Festival, and Luminarie will contribute to revitalizing the local economy through attracting domestic and international tourists.

In education, 27.7 billion KRW has been allocated to improve school facilities and support meal expenses to create a pleasant educational environment. Particularly, the target for native English-speaking classes in local daycare centers and kindergartens will be expanded to ensure equitable education without exclusion due to income disparities.

Finally, 281.2 billion KRW has been allocated for general administration to prepare for future administrative demands and improve civil service administration, ensuring smooth district governance. The construction of new government buildings to meet increasing administrative demands will be steadily promoted. Investment will be made in public officials’ capacity development so that they can provide kind administration and implement creative and innovative governance with the attitude of serving residents as owners.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “As the second budget of the 8th elected administration, 2024 is a very important period when the core projects of the 8th term will be concretized and residents can tangibly feel the results.” He added, “Even with limited resources, we will strive to efficiently allocate funds to essential areas to strengthen welfare and improve residents’ quality of life, and the allocated budget will be executed without waste and at the right place.”

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