On April 4th, Busan City announced its first supplementary budget plan for the year, amounting to 361.2 billion won, which marks a 2.2% increase compared to the main budget. This supplementary budget was quickly implemented to support the stability of public livelihoods and revive the regional economy amid challenges such as high interest rates, weakened consumer sentiment, and economic uncertainties both domestically and internationally.
In a briefing on the same day, Park Heong-joon, the mayor of Busan, emphasized that the city’s role in these tough economic conditions is to alleviate the economic and psychological distress of the citizens, prioritizing the stabilization of public life and economic recovery with rapid budget execution.
The city aims to focus investment in public livelihood stabilization and regional economic recovery, allocating 118.7 billion won and improving citizen living conditions with 59.4 billion won, among other initiatives. Additional financial resources have been secured through local grant taxes (262.9 billion won) and national subsidies (29.5 billion won).
An initial investment of 118.7 billion won will be directed at expanding financial support for small businesses and boosting domestic consumption. A new project called the “Hope Link Card Support Program for Small Businesses” will provide operational funds up to 5 million won without interests (for the first six months), annual fees, or guarantee fees for 40,000 small business owners. Additionally, support for credit guarantees will be strengthened through increased contributions to the Busan Credit Guarantee Foundation, and financial burdens will be alleviated by providing an additional 232.5 billion won in interest compensation funds.
To stimulate local consumption, the issuance of the “Dongbaekjeon” will be expanded to 1.4 trillion won, with increased cashback limits to 500,000 won and benefits adjusted from 5% to 7% until June. Mayor Park highlighted that protecting small neighborhood businesses and stimulating domestic consumption is crucial for regional economic recovery and that the expansion of Dongbaekjeon’s cashback and projects to boost traditional market spending will significantly benefit local commerce.
A new project involving vouchers for traditional market usage will also be implemented, where 10,000 won will be refunded on purchases over 50,000 won to encourage more spending in traditional markets.
Additionally, 32.8 billion won will be invested to support the management of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and improve the business environment. This will include providing an additional 267.5 billion won in operating funds to reduce the financial burden on SMEs and expanding the logistics cost support program for exporting companies to ease maritime freight burdens. The city will also introduce a new “Busan Youth Employment Success Full Package Support Program” to strengthen job matching and establish an AI-based employment linkage system to help resolve labor shortages.
Mayor Park stated that solving the job mismatch between SMEs and young job seekers and improving the business environment are key to revitalizing the regional economy and that creating a sustainable growth base through job creation and strengthening industrial infrastructure is their goal.
The city plans to spend 59.4 billion won on expanding living infrastructure and strengthening disaster prevention measures. To enhance citizen convenience, they will expand infrastructure for the “15-minute city” concept and increase welfare services, including building welfare centers for the disabled and comprehensive social welfare centers, and supporting cultural utilization vouchers for low-income groups. Investments will also cover disaster prevention facilities such as the maintenance of disaster-prone areas like the Namhang Seawall in Busan and improvement of old subway cars. Efforts to diversify water supply sources and improve water quality are also planned.
Mayor Park declared that raising the safety and quality of life of citizens is a core task of the 8th municipal government and pledged to ensure that this supplementary budget leads to tangible improvements in living conditions and safety for the people.
The city will promptly execute the supplementary budget once approved by the Busan City Council, aiming to inject new life into the sluggish regional economy while prioritizing public livelihood stability.