Mayor Kim Wonki Declares '8·13 Fiscal Innovation': "Limited Resources to Be Focused on Areas Felt by Citizens"

Kim Wonki, Mayor of Uijeongbu, Holds Press Conference
City Projects 408.1 Billion Won Deficit Over Four Years
Comprehensive Budget Review and Revenue Expansion in Parallel
All-in Move: Complete Overhaul of Fiscal Structure

"We will firmly protect what is truly necessary for citizens, while boldly changing what needs to be improved. Limited finances will be focused on areas that citizens can directly feel, such as the local economy and transportation."

Kim Wonki, Mayor of Uijeongbu, is announcing the 'August 13 Uijeongbu-style Fiscal Innovation' promotion plan at a press conference held at the Hoeryong Hall of Uijeongbu City Hall on the 13th. Photo by Lee Jonggu

Kim Wonki, Mayor of Uijeongbu, held a press conference at Hoeryong Hall in City Hall on the 13th, declaring the '8·13 Uijeongbu-type Fiscal Innovation' and delivering the above message. He outlined a plan to completely overhaul the city's fiscal management system in response to the deteriorating fiscal environment caused by the rapid increase in mandatory expenditures and large-scale ongoing projects.

Mayor Kim stated, "We can no longer leave the current fiscal structure as it is," adding, "This fiscal innovation is not merely an austerity measure to reduce spending, but a reform that will fundamentally change the fiscal structure."

He emphasized, "This innovation is not about blaming the past, but represents a choice to prepare for the future. We will resolutely preserve what is truly necessary for citizens and boldly adjust or eliminate projects that are unnecessary or ineffective, focusing the city's finances on areas that citizens can actually experience."

Uijeongbu initiated fiscal innovation because the pace of increase in mandatory expenditures has far outstripped revenue growth.

The city's budget has increased more than threefold from 553.8 billion won in 2010 to around 1.7 trillion won this year. However, its own revenue rose just 15%, from 270 billion won to 310 billion won, during the same period.

Meanwhile, the city's fiscal burden from national and provincial subsidy programs has risen sharply. Last year's local tax revenue increased by 1.2 billion won compared to the previous year, but the city's burden due to national and provincial subsidy programs rose by 18.4 billion won. Currently, about 70% of the overall budget comes from national and provincial subsidy programs, and the share spent on social welfare exceeds 60%, intensifying the city's fiscal pressure.

Kim Wonki, mayor of Uijeongbu City, is announcing the plan to promote the '8·13 Uijeongbu-type fiscal innovation' at a press conference held at Hoeryong Hall, Uijeongbu City Hall on the 13th. Photo by Jonggu Lee

Uijeongbu City also explained that its local allocation tax does not sufficiently reflect administrative demand, resulting in only about 350,000 won per resident—significantly lower than similar-sized cities outside the capital area.

Going forward, the financial burden is expected to increase further. Several large-scale projects are planned, such as the Dobongsan-Okjeong metropolitan railway, GTX-C construction cost sharing, major overhauls to the light rail, and modernization of resource recovery facilities. In addition, statutory mandatory expenses, personnel costs, and facility maintenance expenses are all expected to continue rising. If the current fiscal structure is maintained, the city projects a total deficit of 408.1 billion won over the next four years: 55.7 billion won in 2027, 132.5 billion won in 2028, 109.5 billion won in 2029, and 110.4 billion won in 2030.

Accordingly, as the first step in fiscal innovation, the city will establish a 'Citizen Participation Fiscal Innovation Task Force' comprising 17 members, including citizens, experts, and city council members. The task force will, by October, conduct a comprehensive review of social welfare and health, operational costs for affiliated organizations, events and festivals, outsourcing, and subsidies for private organizations, and will fundamentally reassess projects that are redundant or yield low performance.

However, the city underscored that it would strictly maintain essential services—such as the protection of citizens' lives and safety, the social welfare safety net, and basic administrative services.

At the same time, the city plans to expand its independent revenue base by broadening local taxes and non-tax income, attracting corporate investment, and developing returned U.S. military base sites. Uijeongbu intends to continuously request that the national government and Gyeonggi Province adjust the match rates for national and provincial funding, improve allocation standards for local grants, and provide ongoing fiscal and regulatory support for returned base site development.

Kim Wonki, mayor of Uijeongbu City, is announcing the plan to promote the 'August 13 Uijeongbu-style Fiscal Innovation' at a press conference held at Hoeryong Hall of Uijeongbu City Hall on the 13th. Photo by Lee Jonggu

Mayor Kim said, "Fiscal innovation is not about reducing the budget, but rather a choice to protect the lives of our citizens. We will boldly change outdated fiscal management methods and establish a sustainable fiscal structure that secures Uijeongbu's future growth engine through strategic prioritization and selection."

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