Daejeon City Council Special Committee on Budget and Accounts Approves 2026 Budget Bill and Fund Operation Plan

Final Approval of the 2026 Budget Bill Scheduled for the Third Plenary Session on December 15

Scene from the Budget and Accounts Special Committee meeting of Daejeon City Council (Photo by Daejeon City Council)

The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the Daejeon City Council, chaired by Kim Seongwang, reviewed and approved the 2026 Daejeon Metropolitan City budget bill and fund operation plan on December 8.

The Special Committee on Budget and Accounts held review meetings from December 3 to December 8 and made its final decision. The 2026 budget bill is scheduled to be finally approved at the third plenary session on December 15.

The total scale of the 2026 budget bill submitted by the Daejeon Mayor amounts to 7.05823 trillion won, a 5.7% increase compared to this year’s main budget. Of this, the general account is 5.739415 trillion won, and the special account is 1.318815 trillion won. The fund operation plan was submitted at 689.5 billion won, a 4% decrease compared to the previously established plan.

The special accounts and fund operation plan were reviewed as originally submitted, as there were no particular issues. However, for the general account expenditure budget, 3.9779 billion won was cut from two projects deemed to have excessive or unnecessary allocations, and this amount was reallocated as internal reserves.

During the review of the 2026 budget bill, Kim Seongwang, Chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts (People Power Party, Jung-gu District 2), pointed out the increase in event-related expenses and emphasized that event projects should, as much as possible, be consolidated into integrated bids to reduce the budget through bid savings.

He also stated that, despite difficult fiscal conditions such as external and internal economic uncertainties and increases in statutory mandatory expenses, the review of this budget bill was conducted with the stabilization of the people's livelihood economy as the top priority. He explained that particular focus was placed on four key areas-childcare, seniors, youth, and small business owners-with the goal of making Daejeon a leading economic city where all citizens can be happy.

However, he expressed deep regret over administrative actions such as promoting projects or signing related contracts for projects whose budgets have not yet been confirmed due to the budget bill not being approved, as well as cases where the principle of fulfilling preliminary budget procedures was not observed during the budgeting process. He strongly urged the executive branch to ensure that such issues do not recur.

Lee Jaekyung (People Power Party, Seo-gu District 3) examined the reasons for the increase in local bond issuance and stressed the need for close management to ensure fiscal soundness.

He also pointed out that basic maintenance costs, such as facility repair expenses and purchases of goods that have exceeded their useful life, were uniformly reduced, and called for active efforts to ensure that essential expenses are reflected in future supplementary budgets.

Additionally, he emphasized the need for practical support for the suit rental program for job-seeking youth, urged efforts to ensure that young people can fully benefit from the program, and reminded the council that the Daejeon-type public taxi service is a key project to improve transportation convenience for residents and students in underserved areas. He also requested enhanced performance management and service quality improvement.

Lee Sangrae (People Power Party, Dong-gu District 2) highlighted the issue of the annual increase in the employment levy for disabled public servants and called for fundamental and innovative countermeasures.

He also urged that the results of the city's big data analysis be actively reflected in policy-making regarding the accumulation and utilization of private sector data. He pointed out the risks associated with the existing 45-year-old water intake tower and stressed the urgent need for the construction of a second intake tower.

Furthermore, he stated that residents’ demands should be actively addressed prior to construction to reduce local inconvenience. He also requested that, given the unavoidable traffic congestion caused by the construction of Urban Railway Line 2, sufficient communication and advance explanations be provided to residents to minimize inconvenience.

Jeong Myeongguk (People Power Party, Dong-gu District 3) pointed out that the details of the Resident Support Fund projects were not clearly indicated in the explanatory materials and that the commission fees and review allowances in the Science and Technology Promotion Fund were excessively set.

Regarding the management and use of community facilities, he criticized the fact that the ordinance bill was submitted simultaneously with the budget bill, violating preliminary procedures, and stressed that procedures must be followed in the future.

He also pointed out that the hydrogen charging station operation project has been running an annual deficit of about 4 billion won, and that the deficit could increase due to operating and personnel costs. He strongly urged that practical deficit reduction measures and specific plans be established, considering the construction of additional charging stations and the increase in costs.

Park Juhwa (People Power Party, Jung-gu District 1) emphasized that the core of publicity is accurate delivery to citizens regarding the production of promotional videos for city administration, and called for more proactive publicity efforts.

He also criticized the fact that, for two consecutive years, the ordinance bill and budget bill for overseas office operations were submitted simultaneously, calling it an act that infringes on the council’s budget review authority. He stressed that, in the future, budget submissions must be made with procedural legitimacy.

He pointed out that the application process for youth monthly rent support is limited mainly to online applications, and called for improved accessibility through proxy and in-person applications. He also requested that, in the long term, the possibility of expanding support to include international students and foreign workers be considered so that youth can receive inclusive and practical benefits.

Min Kyungbae (People Power Party, Jung-gu District 3) checked the procedures and progress of the new Jungbu Fire Station construction project, expressed regret that the original completion target of August 2027 is expected to be delayed, and called for thorough supervision and prompt normalization of the schedule to ensure that the delay does not affect local safety.

He also pointed out the lack of public transportation access to the Healing Forest and Bomunsan Recreation Forest development projects, and emphasized the need to secure citizen convenience and usability by coordinating transportation measures with relevant departments.

He further requested improvements to the outdated status of the Seodaejeon Integrated Transfer Center, as well as reviews of measures to revitalize connections such as increasing KTX train frequency, straightening the Honam Line, and extending the CTX. Regarding support for traditional markets, he emphasized the need for active support and opportunities for small-scale traditional markets that are struggling due to their small size and difficult circumstances.

Lee Byeongcheol (People Power Party, Seo-gu District 4) demanded thorough operation regarding the integrated management of facilities at Lake Park, citing parking problems and insufficient cleanliness management, and called for increased weekend management personnel and minimizing side effects of paid parking.

He emphasized the importance of preventing missing children and called for enhancing the effectiveness of the pilot smart safety care project incorporating advanced technology, as well as reviewing the possibility of expanding it to include seniors with dementia in the future.

Regarding the creation of a temporary parking lot near Hanwha Life Ballpark, he stressed the need to secure parking infrastructure in consideration of increased stadium use and the revitalization of the old downtown area. Regarding the Daejeon Love Card project, he called for a comprehensive review of incentive appropriateness, contributions to small businesses, and support for the digitally vulnerable, and urged thorough management to ensure stable operation even amid changes in central government policy.

Lee Hanyeong (People Power Party, Seo-gu District 6) closely inspected the management status of the Dunsan Prehistoric Site and Wolpyeong Fortress, requested that relevant departments establish mid- to long-term preservation and maintenance plans, and suggested the placement of cultural tourism interpreters at the Dunsan Prehistoric Site to enhance its historical and cultural value.

He also checked the progress of the Wolpyeong 119 Safety Center reconstruction project, called for swift project implementation, and requested a review of raising the upper age limit for the marriage encouragement grant for young couples to reflect the realistic marriage age trend.

Regarding the ordinance on the safety and convenience of personal mobility devices, he also called for securing an education budget, establishing effective systems for accident prevention and illegal parking management, and urged active response from the relevant departments.

Kim Minsuk (Democratic Party of Korea, Proportional Representative) expressed regret about the overall budget cuts in welfare for the vulnerable, safety, firefighting, and science sectors, and pointed out that the scientist clock tower installation project funded by the Hometown Love Fund does not clearly align with the fund’s legal purpose.

She argued that it is inefficient to allocate budgets to similar beauty-related events individually, and called for integrating events to create richer attractions and synergy effects.

She also raised concerns about the selection process of the Daejeon Beauty Industry Promotion Agency’s operating institution, including issues of qualifications, recruitment period, and fairness, as well as the appropriateness of initial project implementation. She further pointed out that the budget for projects around the USFK grant area is excessively concentrated in Dong-gu District, and emphasized the need for balanced promotion and resolving regional bias with consideration for equity between Daedeok-gu and Dong-gu Districts.

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