Yeosu City Allocates 220.9 Billion KRW Supplementary Budget for Island Expo and Livelihood Support

Emergency Fiscal Injection to Stabilize the Local Economy Amid Middle East Crisis

Yeosu City in South Jeolla Province announced that it has submitted the first supplementary budget bill for 2026 to the city council, aiming to ensure the successful hosting of the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo and to stabilize the local economy.

This supplementary budget has been drafted with a focus on projects directly related to citizens’ livelihoods and local economic recovery, while restraining nonessential expenditures in consideration of challenging fiscal conditions. The total budget amounts to 1.7024 trillion KRW, an increase of 220.9 billion KRW (14.9%) compared to the original budget of 1.4815 trillion KRW.

Yeosu City has prepared a supplementary budget totaling 1.7024 trillion won, which is an increase of 220.9 billion won compared to the original budget. Provided by Yeosu City

In particular, this supplementary budget allocates an additional 7.2 billion KRW to support the successful hosting of the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo.

To prepare for the operation and foundational infrastructure of the expo, the city has earmarked 1.7 billion KRW for the installation of safety facilities, 1 billion KRW for the creation of an expo landmark, 1.8 billion KRW for a climate-responsive urban forest at the expo site, and 300 million KRW for free bus service in Dolsan and island areas, supporting a safe and well-organized event.

Furthermore, to improve accessibility to the islands and enhance the tourism environment, the budget includes 600 million KRW to subsidize half-price ferry fares for visitors from other regions to secondary event sites, 400 million KRW for maintenance of the Geumodo Bireong-gil trail in Nam-myeon, and 300 million KRW for road improvements around the expo, thereby establishing a sustainable tourism infrastructure even after the event.

Additionally, due to concerns over high exchange rates, rising oil prices, and inflation caused by the crisis in the Middle East, as well as shrinking consumption, the city has allocated 8.5 billion KRW to support local small business owners and self-employed individuals whose management burdens have increased.

A city official stated, “This supplementary budget is intended to support citizens’ safety and inject vitality into the local economy during these difficult economic times. We will do our utmost to ensure that the effects of these policies are felt quickly through prompt execution once the budget is finalized following city council deliberation.”

Meanwhile, the supplementary budget bill is scheduled to be reviewed and approved at the city council’s special session, which will begin on the 18th.

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