Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin: "We Will Repay All Local Government Bonds to Make a Zero-Debt City"

Early Repayment of Entire 112 Billion Won in Local Government Bonds
Seongnam to Achieve "Zero Debt City" Status Next Year

On November 27, Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin stated, "To ensure fiscal soundness, we will repay all local government bonds and make Seongnam a 'zero-debt city.'"

Seongnam City Hall exterior. Provided by Seongnam City

Status of Local Bonds in Seongnam City. Provided by Seongnam City

He announced, "We will make an early repayment of the entire 112 billion won in local bonds in January next year."

Over the past three years (2019-2021), Seongnam City issued a total of 240 billion won in local bonds to purchase land for long-term unexecuted parks.

Since the start of the 8th popularly elected administration, the city has reduced inefficient projects, implemented the Seongnam-style semi-public bus system, and switched from private contracts to open bidding for cleaning service outsourcing, thereby cutting unnecessary expenditures. As a result, early repayment of local bonds was achieved within four years.

The outstanding local bonds (240 billion won) have gradually decreased: 160 billion won in 2023, 144 billion won in 2024, and 112 billion won in 2025.

The city decided to move up the repayment schedule for the remaining local bonds (112 billion won), originally planned by 2029, by three years through efficient budget management and systematic fiscal control.

Once all local bonds are repaid in January next year, Seongnam City's debt will become 'zero won.'

The city plans to continue refraining from issuing local bonds and will maintain stable fiscal management to secure ongoing fiscal soundness.

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