Choo Mi-ae Criticizes 8th Administration’s Fiscal Management: "A 'Half-Baked Budget' Covering Only 9 Months, Not 12"

Governor Choo Mi-ae of Gyeonggi Province strongly criticized Governor Kim Dong-yeon's 8th popularly elected administration's fiscal management on this day, saying, "The administration covered up the crisis with makeshift solutions, such as issuing local government bonds up to the limit and diverting designated funds to the general account."

At the emergency press conference, Governor Choo said, "Last year, Gyeonggi Province issued local bonds totaling 943 billion won over three occasions, using 99.6% of the statutory limit of 946 billion won." She also argued, "Moreover, by revising ordinances, the administration funneled a total of 558.8 billion won from various designated funds into the general account through the integrated stabilization account."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae is holding an emergency press conference on the fiscal situation of Gyeonggi Province on the 5th. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

She went on to point out, "By using funds that should be reserved for emergencies to cover ordinary fiscal shortages, the province missed the opportunity to restore normal finance management. Bringing in funds and issuing bonds only managed to stave off the immediate crisis, which has now led to the fiscal crisis we see today."

She further criticized the fiscal operations of the 8th popularly elected administration as employing a 'half-baked budget,' stating that, "For some projects, only nine months' worth of funding, rather than a full year, has been allocated, leaving them in a 'half-baked budget' state."

In particular, she lamented, "Citing budget shortages, a significant number of public livelihood projects this year received allocations for only nine months. After October, there is no budget left, which is essentially the same as a halt to provincial government operations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.