Gyeonggi Province Allocates 60.3 Billion Won for MERS Supplementary Budget

Gyeonggi Province has prepared a supplementary budget of 738.6 billion won for the first quarter and submitted it to the Provincial Assembly on the 9th.

Excluding legally mandated expenses of 312.2 billion won such as city and county grants, the Nuri Program project budget of 283 billion won, and government subsidy projects of 83.1 billion won, 60.3 billion won is allocated for the province's own projects to overcome Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and address drought concerns.

Of the 60.3 billion won, 26.1 billion won has been allocated to operational support for medical institutions including Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center, introduction of dedicated ambulances for infectious diseases, introduction of unmanned disinfection robots for infectious disease wards, psychological treatment and encouragement support for medical personnel treating MERS patients, and development of candidate substances for treating respiratory diseases.

17.1 billion won has been reflected for regional economic development including expansion of basic infrastructure in traditional markets affected by MERS, support for small business owners, and recovery of the tourism industry.

Additionally, 11.1 billion won will be invested in drought mitigation measures including groundwater well development and reservoir dredging to secure stable water supplies.

The remaining 6 billion won has been designated for the Provincial Assembly to allocate independently.

A provincial official stated, "We have set aside 6 billion won as the Provincial Assembly's allocation portion, and if additional funds are needed, we plan to use up to 4 billion won from the reserve fund," adding that "in this case, the Provincial Assembly would have budget allocation authority up to a maximum of 10 billion won."

Governor Nam Gyeong-pil previously attended a Provincial Assembly plenary session on the 7th and promised to "grant the Provincial Assembly standing committees budget allocation authority for part of the supplementary budget."

This supplementary budget will be reviewed during the "one-point" special session to be held from the 20th to 24th.