Interview Gyeonggi Province Debt Map Creator Kim Han-seul: "What I Was Curious About, Gyeonggi Residents Would Be Too"

As controversy surrounding Gyeonggi Province's finances spreads following Governor Choo Mi-ae's declaration of "near default," a so-called "Gyeonggi Province Debt Map (debt.ggdata.kr)" has been unveiled, organizing the province's debt information at a glance.

The website was built by Assemblyman Kim Han-seul (People Power Party·At-large) of Gyeonggi Province, who directly requested data from the provincial government and utilized artificial intelligence (AI). It consolidates debt changes during the 6th through 8th democratic local government terms, fund loans and projects, local bond issuance and usage details, and more.

Assemblyman Kim did not initially create the website to respond to Governor Choo's financial emergency declaration. He had requested related materials during a provincial assembly session and was producing the website after the session ended. While reviewing it with a specialist, he learned of Governor Choo's emergency press conference and moved up the public release date.

Assemblyman Kim said, "On the day we were reviewing, Governor Choo Mi-ae suddenly held an emergency press conference, and when I saw the content, it was what I had been analyzing," adding, "So I decided to release it immediately."

Gyeonggi Province has already disclosed debt-related materials through financial disclosures. As to why a separate website was created despite this, Assemblyman Kim cited accessibility and readability of existing materials.

He said, "Even if materials are posted on the website, it's difficult to know about them unless you actively search for them, and the content is also difficult to understand. Although the governor said the debt exceeds 7 trillion won and is nearly in default, it would be very difficult for residents to find all existing financial disclosures and compare which specific item he was referring to," he explained.

Another reason for consolidating the data was to identify the timing of financial deterioration and where responsibility lies. Following the 7th democratic local government term (then-Governor Lee Jae-myung) and the 8th term (then-Governor Kim Dong-yeon), Governor Choo, also from the Democratic Party, raised issues with the previous administration's financial management shortly after taking office, so he saw a need to compare this using identical data.

Assemblyman Kim said, "Since Governor Choo Mi-ae from the same Democratic Party claimed severe financial conditions, I wanted to look as objectively as possible at who bears responsibility based on data. I'm examining the records to see if we can claim that excessive debt or budget spending by the previous and previous-previous administrations caused these problems."

In organizing the data, he found that the current controversial financial management methods had been repeatedly raised in the past. Issues such as using new funds to repay existing debt or using funds between different fund accounts, which reduces actual available resources, remained in provincial assembly meeting records.

He said, "There were already criticisms about 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'—borrowing anew to repay existing debt. I could confirm in last year's meeting records the issue that when funds are borrowed and lent from different fund accounts, the actual available amount decreases."

Assemblyman Kim also pointed out that such data are scattered across multiple years and documents. While individual data are disclosed, understanding long-term changes and connections requires users to directly find and compile the materials themselves.

He said, "When information is fragmented, it's difficult for anyone who isn't truly interested to piece it all together and make a judgment. It's a process of gradually connecting the areas of concern one by one."

What Assemblyman Kim particularly focused on in the data was general local bonds. According to data submitted by Gyeonggi Province, general local bonds, separate from regional development bonds, did not previously exist but were issued last year.

Assemblyman Kim said, "There were no general local bonds other than regional development bonds. General local bonds, which are borrowed to undertake projects, did not exist before and only started being created last year."

He also analyzed the usage of local bonds. According to Assemblyman Kim, in 2025 there were relatively large-scale projects such as road and river maintenance, but in 2026, local bonds were invested even in relatively small-scale projects.

He said, "If projects are truly essential, wouldn't it be healthier if the province could handle them with its own budget from the original budget? The fact that general local bonds are being issued even for trivial projects costing less than 1 billion won is something we need to examine."

However, he drew a line at directly connecting increased debt to a particular administration's responsibility. He explained that the website is also structured around submitted data and seeks to exclude separate political assessments as much as possible.

Assemblyman Kim said, "The very purpose isn't simply 'the Democratic Party got it wrong' or 'it's all Lee Jae-myung's fault.' The moment it appears that way, the objectivity of data analysis is lost and it could be read as political criticism."

For this reason, he plans to compare Governor Choo's proposed "7-trillion-won debt" using the same standards against the past. The figures currently reflected in the Debt Map are data submitted by Gyeonggi Province as official debt, but Assemblyman Kim understands that the 7-trillion-won figure presented by Governor Choo broadly includes not just local bonds but also regional development funds and interest. He said, "When we examine the past by the governor's figures, we need to determine who bears responsibility. If analysis by the exact same standards shows an increase from a particular point in time, then responsibility becomes clear at that point."

Accordingly, Assemblyman Kim has requested that Gyeonggi Province recalculate 12 years of past data using the same standards as the governor's method. This is to compare the difference between existing official debt and the governor's stated "7-trillion-won debt." He said, "Since the standards in what the governor announced haven't been clarified down to details, currently we can only confirm the large figure. When comparable data arrives, I think it's necessary to integrate it with existing data to show it for accurate understanding of the matter."

Regarding Gyeonggi Province's emphasis on revenue structure as a cause of financial deterioration, his position is that expenditures must also be examined together. Apart from the fact that tax revenues decreased, it must also be verified whether expenditure scales were adjusted accordingly. Assemblyman Kim said, "Gyeonggi Province's financial problems didn't occur overnight but have accumulated continuously. It's misleading to discuss only the revenue side. If revenue is insufficient, expenditures must be adjusted accordingly, and the revenue issue must also be raised."

The "Gyeonggi Province Debt Map" will be supplemented and revised as additional data becomes available. Assemblyman Kim has additionally requested details on local bond interest, issuance dates, detailed issuance information, and more from Gyeonggi Province. He said, "I requested all interest details and must confirm who the local bonds were issued to, whether they were issued at a specific time, and whether there was a specific purpose. Once data is submitted, we will reflect it on the website and are also exploring ways for residents to directly participate and discuss the matter."

Assemblyman Kim emphasized that the purpose of disclosing financial data was not to draw a specific conclusion. He said, "If the situation is truly serious, we all must tighten our belts. But if instead it was political action on the part of Governor Choo to push forward her projects, we will strictly monitor and counterbalance so residents suffer no harm."

The starting point for creating the "Gyeonggi Province Debt Map" was for the same reason. Assemblyman Kim said, "I thought what I was curious about, Gyeonggi residents would also be curious about. I will continue making efforts so residents can more easily review the information I've directly verified."