The National Heritage Administration announced on the 17th that the total expenditure for the 2025 budget, including funds, has been finalized at 1.3875 trillion KRW, an increase of 21.6 billion KRW from this year. While preparing the budget formulation following the establishment of the national heritage system, the agency aimed to uncover and promote the value of national heritage and enhance its contribution to the national economy and local communities by identifying various projects and reflecting them in the budget.
Breaking down the budget by category, the general account and special account for regional balanced development increased by 37.3 billion KRW (3.1%) to 1.2440 trillion KRW, whereas the National Heritage Protection Fund decreased by 15.7 billion KRW to 143.5 billion KRW.
By sector, the government plans to allocate funding as follows: 529.9 billion KRW for national heritage maintenance, 277 billion KRW for national heritage policy, 133.2 billion KRW for cultural heritage, 66.9 billion KRW for natural and intangible heritage, 114.9 billion KRW for education, research, and exhibitions, and 143.1 billion KRW for the management of royal tombs and palaces.
Key projects with increased funding include the national task of national heritage maintenance with an additional 12.6 billion KRW (from 517.3 billion KRW to 529.9 billion KRW), Palman Daejanggyeong digital database construction with an increase of 8.7 billion KRW (from 1.3 billion KRW to 10 billion KRW), the preservation and development of ancient cities with an additional 4.9 billion KRW (from 20.2 billion KRW to 25.1 billion KRW), maintenance and ceremonial projects at Jongmyo Shrine with an increase of 3.2 billion KRW (from 4.6 billion KRW to 7.8 billion KRW), and the advancement of burial heritage site information with an increase of 3 billion KRW (from 3 billion KRW to 6 billion KRW).
Key new projects for the upcoming year, aimed at enhancing the typically weak value of natural heritage, include: 2.3 billion KRW for geological heritage preservation and utilization, 1.9 billion KRW for protecting natural monuments and organisms, 1.2 billion KRW for the preservation and management of scenic and traditional landscapes, and 400 million KRW for operating the establishment task force of the National Natural Heritage Center.
To enhance social and international value and promote regional revitalization in line with the transition to the national heritage system, projects such as 1 billion KRW for national heritage education considering the socially disadvantaged, 800 million KRW for creating promotional video content for national heritage, 900 million KRW for updating signage in connection with the transition to the national heritage system, 1 billion KRW for supporting intangible heritage trust funds at international organizations, 1.8 billion KRW for constructing the International Center for Interpretation and Explanation of World Heritage, and 1 billion KRW for building an open storage facility for large underwater artifacts are also planned.