Yeosu City Secures Additional Ordinary Grant Tax to Address Petrochemical Industry Crisis

Continuous Requests for System Improvement to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety
Securing a Two-Year Extension for Industrial Crisis Areas
Expectations for Fiscal Expansion and Local Economic Revitalization

Yeosu City in South Jeolla Province (Mayor Chung Kimyung) announced that, according to the "2026 Ordinary Grant Tax Improvement Plan" finalized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Local Grant Tax Committee on October 31, support for industrial crisis areas will be extended by two years, allowing the city to secure additional ordinary grant tax funds through 2027.

The ordinary grant tax is a financial resource provided by the central government without usage restrictions when a local government's standard fiscal revenue falls short of its standard fiscal demand. Recently, Yeosu City has faced an urgent need to strengthen its finances as local tax revenue has declined due to the stagnation of the Yeosu National Industrial Complex.

Yeosu City Hall Exterior View.

In May, Yeosu was designated as a "Proactive Industrial Crisis Response Area" by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. However, under the current system, the period for additional ordinary grant tax support due to this designation was limited to 2025.

To address this, the city has continuously proposed to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that the period for additional ordinary grant tax support be extended to 2027, matching the designation period of the industrial crisis response area.

This improvement plan reflects Yeosu City's request, and includes a two-year extension of ordinary grant tax support for industrial and employment crisis areas that have been directly impacted by the downturn in traditional industries such as petrochemicals and steel.

Accordingly, from early November to mid-December, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will pre-announce the legislative amendment to the "Enforcement Rules of the Local Grant Tax Act" and, after its promulgation, apply the revised standards to the calculation of ordinary grant tax nationwide.

Chung Kimyung, Mayor of Yeosu, stated, "This extension of the grant tax will greatly contribute not only to the stable fiscal management of Yeosu City, but also to balanced regional development and the improvement of citizens' quality of life. Based on the secured funds, we will actively pursue projects to overcome the crisis in the petrochemical industry and to revitalize the local economy."

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