Gimpo City Faces Unprecedented Crisis as Supplementary Budget Not Deliberated... Public Safety and Livelihood Support at Risk

Gimpo City Council Fails to Deliberate Supplementary Budget at 258th Extraordinary Session
Concerns Rise Over Real Damage to Citizens Ahead of Rainy Season and Typhoon
Support for Special Guarantees for Small Business Owners and Gold Line Safety Facility Projects Halted
Gimpo City Government Employees' Union Issues Statement: "The Gimpo City Council Is Dead"

In Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province, concerns are mounting over significant impacts on public safety and livelihoods after the city council failed to deliberate on the supplementary budget bill during the 258th extraordinary session held from May 21 to May 23.

According to Gimpo City on May 26, the city council did not convene the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on May 23 and allowed the plenary session to adjourn automatically. As a result, the supplementary budget bill totaling 1.7357 trillion won was not even reviewed and was scrapped.

This follows last year’s provisional budget crisis and marks a series of ongoing budget conflicts this year, including a significant reduction of the first supplementary budget, the complete rejection of the second supplementary budget, and the refusal to deliberate on the revised second supplementary budget. These repeated conflicts are being viewed as a major crisis, with administrative paralysis and tangible harm to citizens becoming apparent.

The supplementary budget included funds for flood response during the rainy season. However, due to the delay, the city will not be able to proceed with the stormwater pipeline installation project in Gomak-ri, Wolgot-myeon, making flood damage inevitable. Gimpo City announced plans to deploy large pumps and have public officials directly respond to emergencies.

The supplementary budget, which was fully rejected on May 18 as the second supplementary budget, included support for special guarantees for small business owners, accident insurance for social welfare facility workers, daily care service projects, youth growth projects, labor costs for managing public property selected through public contests, environmental improvements for facilities for people with disabilities, the establishment of a smart flood management system for local rivers, support for the activation of resident evacuation facilities during normal times, and the installation of unmanned civil service certificate issuance machines at the Gimpo Manufacturing Convergence Innovation Center.

In the previous second supplementary budget, the city had included emergency resident convenience projects for each eup, myeon, and dong, but these could not proceed due to the complete rejection. Although the city quickly proposed the current supplementary budget, this time, the lack of deliberation by the council has put public safety at risk.

In particular, the stormwater pipeline installation project in the flood-prone area of Gomak-ri, Wolgot-myeon, cannot be carried out as the construction period has been missed, with the rainy season imminent, making damage to citizens unavoidable. The city plans to mobilize large pumps and have public officials respond directly to the rain. To even prevent typhoon damage in September, passing the supplementary budget is urgent.

Other delayed projects include a 60 million won project for waterway and farm road maintenance in Dongulsan-ri, Tongjin-eup; a 70 million won repaving project for the industrial complex in Sangma-ri, Daegot-myeon; and a 115 million won drainage maintenance project in Siam-ri, Haseong-myeon. These delays mean that maintenance of farm roads and drainage, as well as repairs to aging facilities, cannot proceed, raising concerns about property damage for citizens.

Disaster prevention efforts have also been delayed. The city was unable to secure 6 billion won in transfers to the sewerage special account for BTO and BTL operations and preliminary investments in sewerage projects, 1 billion won for repair work on the soundproof tunnel of the Janggi underpass, and 300 million won for local river maintenance. Additionally, 11.3 billion won in transfers to the urban railway special account for the operation and facility improvement of the Gimpo Gold Line, 10.5 billion won for the grade separation project at the Yangchon Industrial Complex intersection on Local Road No. 84 (scheduled for completion in June 2025), and 200 million won for the construction of a school road for Unyang Elementary and Middle School, totaling 22.72 billion won, could not be secured.

Livelihood support budgets have also been blocked one after another. Support for special guarantees for small business owners (2.6 billion won), funds for fostering small and medium-sized enterprises (1.5 billion won), and 15 million won for environmental improvements at the Gimpo Five-Day Market?all aimed at revitalizing the local economy?have come to a halt.

In addition, the city’s public relations budget for communication with citizens has been cut for the fourth consecutive time. The KakaoTalk channel has been suspended since the beginning of the year, and the city newsletter "Gimpo Maru," which recorded a 99% satisfaction rate among citizens, will be discontinued after the July issue, ending a 20-year run.

Meanwhile, the Gimpo City Government Employees’ Union issued a strongly worded statement on May 23 titled "The Gimpo City Council Is Dead," sharply criticizing the council. The union stated, "We have never experienced a city council like this before. The 8th popularly elected administration has been filled with council disruptions. We must hold those responsible for the administrative inefficiency caused by frequent supplementary budgets, the suspension of city administrative work, and the betrayal of the trust of voters strictly accountable. We urge the Gimpo City Council to set aside personal feelings, deliberate and approve the supplementary budget, normalize the council, and uphold at least the minimum level of dignity for the sake of citizens’ lives and the development of the city."

Gimpo City is emphasizing that without prompt deliberation and approval of the supplementary budget, it will not be able to respond adequately to the upcoming typhoon and economic crisis, and is urging the council to engage in substantive discussions for the benefit of citizens.

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