Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority Successfully Concludes Special Contest on Budget Reduction and Revenue Increase

From Tax Refunds to Rental System Improvements
Leading the Spread of a Cost-Saving Organizational Culture Among All Employees

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority (YGPA, Acting President Hwang Hakbeom) announced on December 4 that it held a "2025 Special Contest for Achievements and Ideas on Budget Reduction and Revenue Increase," which involved the participation of all employees, and selected a total of four outstanding proposals through a final review process.

This contest was organized to overcome increased financial burdens-stemming from mid- to long-term investment projects and the repayment of government pre-investment funds for the Yeosu Expo site-by leveraging employees' creative ideas. From September to November, a total of 21 proposals were submitted. These underwent a three-stage evaluation process: a company-wide initial assessment, a second review by the Proposal Evaluation Working Committee, and a final review by the Proposal Evaluation Committee. As a result, four outstanding proposals were ultimately selected.

Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority panorama.

The top proposal involved obtaining a refund for taxes already paid on land under the authority’s jurisdiction and significantly reducing future tax burdens. The staff member in charge thoroughly re-examined land use and tax criteria from the ground up, reviewed relevant laws, sought expert consultation, and coordinated with tax authorities. These efforts resulted in a tax refund of 2.7 billion won and an estimated reduction of about 6.8 billion won in taxes and public charges over the next five years.

Other highly rated cases included: ▲ a budget-saving initiative where the “post-evaluation of construction projects,” previously outsourced, was conducted in-house by strengthening employee capabilities; ▲ a revenue-increasing case that improved the rental fee system in the Yeosu area to boost rental income; and ▲ a cost-saving idea to convert port facility usage fee invoices to a digital format.

Acting President Hwang Hakbeom stated, "This special contest was a meaningful opportunity that demonstrated how all employees can work together to overcome the authority’s challenging financial circumstances." He added, "We will quickly incorporate good ideas from the field into actual policies and work processes, share them with employees, and continue to discover outstanding cases in the future to further enhance the efficiency of the authority’s budget management."

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