Gyeonggi Province Compiles Record-Largest 27 Trillion 31.9 Billion Won Budget for Next Year

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Gyeonggi Province has compiled a budget of 27 trillion 3.19 billion won for next year, representing a 10.9% increase of 2 trillion 65.88 billion won from this year's 24 trillion 37.31 billion won.

Of this, the general account is 23 trillion 58.78 billion won and the special account is 3 trillion 44.41 billion won, marking a 'record-largest' scale. The province plans to submit this budget plan to the Gyeonggi Provincial Council on the 5th.

Gyeonggi Province's 2020 budget plan will undergo review by the provincial council's standing committees from the 25th to 29th of this month, followed by deliberation by the Budget and Accounts Committee from December 2nd to 13th.

Governor Lee Jae-myung held a press conference at Gyeonggi Provincial Government on the 4th to announce the '2020 Main Budget Plan.'

Governor Lee stated, "With the launch of the 7th popularly-elected administration, Gyeonggi Province has adopted 'a fair society' as the core value of provincial governance, and over the past year we have concentrated our administrative efforts to lay the foundation for fairness and have been leading changes one by one," adding, "Next year, we will go one step further and show that when society is fair, individuals' actual lives also change."

The governor continued, "The most important principle in planning is to keep our promises to the citizens, prioritize residents' rights and interests, and respond to residents' needs in a timely manner," explaining, "We sought to increase investment in cost-effective projects that yield overlapping policy effects while considering fiscal efficiency and soundness, and to discover concealed and hidden tax sources to realize tax justice," regarding the 2020 budget compilation principles.

Next year's budget contains a plan to prioritize 'opening a fair society in Gyeonggi Province' and make focused investments in '5 major sectors' to realize the 7th administration's three core values of 'fairness, peace, and welfare.'

The '5 major investment focus areas' are presented as ▲Gyeonggi where citizens are the main stakeholders ▲Welfare Gyeonggi that guarantees the basics of life ▲Fair Gyeonggi overflowing with innovative economy ▲Clean environment, Gyeonggi people want to live in ▲Safe and enjoyable Gyeonggi.

The province plans to realize the '3 major operational principles' of ▲repositioning fiscal function ▲thorough fiscal management ▲securing fiscal soundness and stability by cooperating with the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, 31 cities and counties within the province, and Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education in a horizontal and partnership-oriented manner through 'collaborative governance' to ensure that each institution's resources and capacities are utilized most efficiently.

□ Gyeonggi where citizens are the main stakeholders

To create a 'fair Gyeonggi Province where citizens are the main stakeholders,' 459 billion won has been allocated.

First, 279.1 billion won will be invested in correcting the 'uneven playing field' through efforts such as ▲respecting labor ▲protecting human rights ▲supporting public interest whistleblowers ▲promoting gender equality ▲providing special compensation for special sacrifice. Additionally, 78.4 billion won has been allocated to strengthen direct democracy by expanding residents' political participation rights and reinforcing 'collaborative governance' for mutual development with cities and counties.

In the sector of creating the DMZ as an ecological and peace space and developing areas surrounding the U.S. Forces Korea base to position 'Gyeonggi Province as the heart of peace and prosperity,' a budget of 101.5 billion won will be invested.

Representative projects include support for non-tax revenue collection and local tax delinquency collection activities (19.2 billion won) and military service Gyeonggi youth injury insurance and local currency issuance support (3.7 billion won).

□ Welfare Gyeonggi that guarantees the basics of life

A total of 1 trillion 176.26 billion won has been allocated to the 'welfare Gyeonggi' development sector.

First, 4 trillion 3.52 billion won has been allocated to sectors including public childcare, child and youth welfare, and strengthening public healthcare to eliminate health disparities.

Additionally, 6 trillion 87.7 billion won will be invested in 'customized life-cycle welfare projects' that the 7th administration is promoting with emphasis, such as postpartum care support, elementary school dental care providers, free school uniforms, and youth basic income.

In particular, 44.9 billion won will be invested in the newly implemented 'youth transportation subsidy project' aimed at reducing the burden on adolescents and youth by providing part of transportation costs in local currency.

Furthermore, 850.4 billion won will be invested in the field of 'realizing welfare services without discrimination for immigrants, disabled foreigners, and single-parent families.'

Representative projects include 'Gyeonggi Province Youth Basic Income,' a flagship youth policy of the 7th administration (105.4 billion won), living scholarships and sanitary product support for low-income adolescents (7.8 billion won), air purifier support for daycare centers (1.8 billion won), and heating and cooling costs for disabled households (1.8 billion won).

□ Fair Gyeonggi overflowing with innovative economy

A total of 1 trillion 18.1 billion won will be invested in the sector of cultivating economic industries based on fairness and innovation.

First, 88.3 billion won has been allocated to sectors supporting small merchants and traditional markets through local currency activation and creating an environment conducive to entrepreneurship.

Additionally, 462.3 billion won will be invested in the sector of creating quality jobs and fostering a business-friendly environment, and 467.5 billion won has been allocated to strengthening rural and fishing competitiveness through shared economy activation.

Representative projects include local currency issuance and activation support (10.1 billion won), traditional market safety expansion and parking environment improvement and activation (19.8 billion won), small merchant re-entrepreneurship and microenterprise yellow umbrella guarantee enrollment support (4.8 billion won).

□ Clean environment, Gyeonggi people want to live in

A total of 2 trillion 369.2 billion won has been allocated to projects improving residents' quality of life, including clean environment, stable housing, and convenient transportation.

First, 929.7 billion won has been allocated to the sector of creating safe and convenient transportation environments through traffic safety infrastructure construction.

Additionally, 159.2 billion won will be invested in projects stabilizing housing environments for low-income residents, such as happy housing construction, and creating pleasant residential environments through Gyeonggi-style urban regeneration.

Furthermore, 1 trillion 280.3 billion won will be spent on fine dust reduction projects such as diesel vehicle emission reduction and pollution prevention facility installation support for small businesses, as well as creating healthy water environments through ecological stream restoration.

Representative projects include in-use diesel vehicle emission reduction (203.5 billion won), electric vehicle purchase support (132.3 billion won), and pollution prevention facility support for small-scale microenterprises (106.1 billion won).

□ Safe and enjoyable Gyeonggi

A total of 1 trillion 250.1 billion won has been allocated to sectors guaranteeing residents' rights through safe education, culture, sports, and more.

First, 691.2 billion won will be invested in the sector of creating safe Gyeonggi Province protecting residents' lives and property, such as emergency medical-exclusive 24-hour doctor helicopters.

Additionally, 375 billion won has been allocated to the culture and educational basic rights sector, and 183.9 billion won will be invested in sports activation and strengthening livestock hygiene such as African swine fever prevention.

Representative projects include local river maintenance projects (146.8 billion won), companion animal theme park development (8.8 billion won), and emergency medical helicopter operation support (7 billion won).