"Residents Design the Budget Themselves": Buk-gu Calls for Participatory Budget Proposals
by Min Hyunki
Published 14 Apr.2026 11:23(KST)
Open to All Residents of Buk-gu
Opportunity to Develop Policies for Youth and Young Adults
Gwangju Buk-gu is launching a public contest for the Participatory Budgeting System, which allows residents to propose projects needed in the region and take part in the budgeting process.
According to Buk-gu on April 14, proposals for participatory budgeting projects for the 2027 fiscal year will be intensively accepted until June 19. The Participatory Budgeting System is a system that ensures resident participation in the budgeting process, thereby enhancing the transparency of fiscal management. In 2004, Buk-gu became the first in the nation to enact an ordinance related to this system, which has since spread nationwide.
This public contest has a total budget of 2 billion won and will be operated in two categories: district policy projects (600 million won) and local pending projects (1.4 billion won), depending on the nature of each project.
District policy projects are those with a budget of up to 100 million won that aim to enhance resident benefits across the entire district or at least two neighborhoods, or to develop policies related to youth and young adults. Local pending projects are small-scale projects with a maximum budget of 50 million won, supporting initiatives such as resolving daily inconveniences for residents and neighborhood-specific projects.
Anyone who has an address, business, or residential connection in Buk-gu is eligible to participate. Submitted ideas will undergo a preliminary review by relevant departments and deliberation by the Participatory Budgeting Committee, after which they may be reflected in the next year’s budget proposal.
Residents wishing to participate can fill out and submit the application form posted on the Buk-gu Office website.
A Buk-gu official stated, “We hope many residents will participate so that their valuable opinions from daily life can bear fruit in the form of the budget,” and added, “We will continue to actively incorporate diverse resident voices into all aspects of district administration to deliver governance that residents can truly feel.”
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