Seoul Metropolitan Council Approves SMG’s 47 Tln Won, Largest-Ever Budget Bill

Chairman Kim Hyun-ki of the Seoul Metropolitan Council presides over the council’s plenary session for the 2022. (Photos: Seoul Metropolitan Council)

The Seoul Metropolitan Council gave the nod to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s 2023 budget bill of 47 trillion won, the largest-ever.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council held a plenary session last Dec. 16 and approved SMG’s budget bill for the year 2023, standing at 47,190.5 billion won.

The figure represented a reduction of 14.7 billion won from SMG’s 47,205.2 billion won budget proposal, but a 6.7 percent increase over SMG’s budget for the year 2022.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council passed the original budget bill, proposed by its special committee on budget and accounts. Seventy councilors out of 93 participants approved the budget and eight others abstained.

SMG’s contributions to the broadcasting outlet TBS was set at 23.2 billion won, a reduction of 8.8 billion won, or a 27.4 percent, over the year 2022, as the metropolitan government proposed.

SMG reduced them to 23.2 billion won, almost half of TBS’ 41.2 billon request. Contributions to the Seoul Public Agency for Social Service, a caring service institution, were reduced to 6.8 billion won, a cut of 10 billion won from SMG’s proposed 16.8 billion won.

The budget for supporting the operation of University of Seoul was set at 47.6 billion won, a reduction of 10 billion won, or a 17.3 percent off SMG’s proposal of 57.6 billion won.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s priority projects, such as a 600 million won project on the construction of Seoul Port, part of the Han River-Geyongin Ara Waterway, and 27 billion won project on Seoul-type health care, were cut from the standing committee’s deliberation, but they were later retrieved.

The 1.5 billion won budget for the Jun Tae-il Memorial Museum was removed during the standing committee’s deliberation, but was revived at 670 million won, less than half of the 1.5 billion won budget for last year.

The 3.1 billion won budget for the Seoul Labor Rights Center and the 350 million won one for the Gangbuk Labor Welfare Center were removed, but later restored to 2.5 billion won and 250 million won, respectively.

Seoul Mayor Oh’s policy projects got a boost from budget proposals. They included a 445 million won project on “walking with those with the vulnerable bracket,” a 1.804 billion won project on “Metaverse Seoul,” a 1.5 billion won project on the Job Academy, a 750 million won project on “Nodeulseom Global Art Islet,” a 800 million project on supporting half-underground rental homes and a 600 million won on renewal of “Saeun Commercial District.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Council also approved 150 ordinances, including one on the safety management of large-sized events designed to prevent the repeat of the Itaewon Halloween incident that cost lives of 153 people.

That funding was approved at its regular session that went from Nov. 11 to Dec. 22.

Chairman Kim Hyun-ki of the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

‘Seoul Metropolitan Council Overhauls Wrong Ordinances and Unreasonable Practices’

In his New Year’s message, released last Dec. 30, Chairman Kim Hyeon-ki of the Seoul Metropolitan Council said the council will never waver in correcting wrongly-intended ordinances and undesirable practices.”

Chairman Kim said, “In the New Year, the Seoul Metropolitan Council will endlessly move forward the path of reform in the SMG and education administration.”

“The Seoul Metropolitan Council will be run in accordance with general citizens’ standards based on principles and common sense to demonstrate it’s going in the right direction,” Kim said.

Chairman Kim said the metropolitan council will prioritize scrutinizing, checking and overhauling the so-called “three needless policies“, non-essential use policies, policies with opaque execution and policies with vague project effects.