"Obstructing Goyang City's Development?" City Council Faces Backlash Over Massive Budget Cuts to Key Projects

Goyang-si's 500 Million KRW Fourth Budget Cut for Urban Master Plan Reestablishment Service
Ilsan New Town Reconstruction Setback Inevitable... Ministry of Land Budget Also Greatly Reduced
Goyang-si "Core Project Schedule Delay Inevitable... Efforts to Prepare First Supplementary Budget"

The Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province, is embroiled in controversy as the Goyang City Council, which has hindered every major project the city has prioritized, has once again drastically cut next year's key budget proposals. Goyang Special City has strongly opposed this, issuing a statement questioning whether the council is "obstructing Goyang's development or wishing for its regression."

A view of Goyang Special City Hall. Provided by Goyang Special City.

According to Goyang City on the 24th, the city council held the 290th session, 2nd regular meeting on the 20th, and finalized a decision to cut 20.1 billion KRW from the 3.3405 trillion KRW expenditure budget proposed by the city for next year. This was a confirmation of the original proposal passed by the Budget and Accounts Special Committee the previous day.

Most of the cut budgets were for essential core projects necessary for the city's sustainable development.

Looking into details, the 500 million KRW budget for the "Urban Master Plan Reestablishment Service," which has been requested four times including this year's main budget, was cut again. The Urban Master Plan is a foundational plan reflecting changes in urban conditions such as the Free Economic Zone and redevelopment/reconstruction of the first phase new towns. The city stated that delays in reestablishing the Urban Master Plan due to budget cuts would hinder the smooth formulation of subordinate plans like urban management plans and raise concerns about difficulties in establishing urban spatial concepts and living zone plans that consider changes in Goyang City's conditions. In particular, setbacks are inevitable in the reconstruction project of Ilsan New Town, where the designation of the leading district has been completed.

Additionally, 7 billion KRW for the Hub-type Smart City Development Project was cut for the second time following the second supplementary budget this year. The Hub-type Smart City Development Project was selected as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport public contest project, securing 20 billion KRW in national funds. It plans to ensure citizen safety and convenience by establishing eight different systems, including drone rapid response for disaster occurrences and real-time sinkhole detection ground subsidence services.

If city funds are not allocated, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is likely to reduce project costs. If this situation continues, the originally planned project may face significant downsizing.

The 600 million KRW budget for the World Urban Forum, now in its fifth year, was also cut. The World Urban Forum began in 2019 during the previous mayor's term and has become an international forum representing Goyang City. Hosting the World Urban Forum has enhanced the city's brand value as a MICE industry city and a sustainable city, serving as a catalyst for expanding global cooperation networks. The complete budget cut for next year's event is expected to damage the domestic and international networks formed so far and the city's global brand asset value.

Moreover, legally mandatory services such as the 1 billion KRW Road Construction Management Plan Establishment Service have been cut for the fourth time. The Road Construction Management Plan is a legal obligation under Article 6 of the Road Act and requires a plan to be established every five years for roads under jurisdiction to ensure smooth construction and maintenance. The ongoing basic road plan establishment for Goyang City, in preparation for plans by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Gyeonggi Province, is being disrupted, causing significant damage to reliability.

Other cuts include 300 million KRW for the Wondang Station Area Comprehensive Development Plan Establishment Service, 100 million KRW for the Public Museum Construction Feasibility Analysis Service, 270 million KRW for the Public Arboretum Basic Concept and Feasibility Review Service, 250 million KRW for the Changneungcheon Rainwater Storage Facility Urban Management Plan Decision and Impact Assessment Service, 270 million KRW for the Public Design Promotion Plan Reorganization Service, and 110 million KRW for the Goyang City Urban Brand Basic Plan Establishment Service.

In a statement, Goyang City said, "The large-scale cut in service fees, which is the first step in starting projects, is meant to examine the possibility of sustainable development for Goyang City, but the city council cut the budget based on conclusions such as lack of feasibility, which means they are telling us not to even start." They added, "While respecting the council's authority to review preliminary budgets, such budget cuts now are equivalent to cutting off benefits for someone and the city's future together," strongly criticizing the council.

Major promotional budgets, including promotional fees for key policies, were also drastically cut. Not only was the 2.1 billion KRW promotional budget for overall Goyang City promotion cut, but promotional budgets within individual projects were also reduced. These include 20 million KRW for producing promotional materials for the Free Economic Zone promotion, 50 million KRW for cultural and artistic event promotion to attract large-scale events, and 300 million KRW for the Cultural Foundation's promotional budget.

A Goyang Special City official expressed deep regret over the large-scale cuts in the 2025 main budget, stating, "We will do our best to ensure that the budgets not reflected this time are included in the first supplementary budget next year to promote policies for citizens and a better future for Goyang City."

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