Gyeongsangnam-do Selects 78 Participatory Budgeting Projects for 2027, Worth KRW 9.4 Billion

Gyeongsangnam-do has selected the participatory budgeting projects to be implemented next year.

Gyeongsangnam-do said it selected 78 participatory budgeting projects for 2027, with a total budget of KRW 9.4 billion, at the 2026 general meeting of the Residents' Participatory Budget Committee held on October 23 in the provincial government’s conference hall.

By application category, the projects include 42 in the daily-life safety category, 31 in the regional partnership category, four in the youth and senior participation category, and one in the provincial government participation category.

By region, Namhae County had 12 projects; Tongyeong City, Gimhae City and Geoje City had eight each; Miryang City had seven; and Changwon City had six.

Gyeongnam Provincial Government. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Major projects include installing delineators on the curbs of traffic islands at roundabouts in Gyeongsangnam-do; building parking lots for personal mobility devices in Changwon City; improving the pedestrian environment on an aging pedestrian overpass in Jinju City; maintaining roads around Deokcheon River in Tongyeong City; and improving traffic safety lanes on Local Route 58 in the Gonyang area of Sacheon City.

Gyeongsangnam-do previously invited submissions for participatory budgeting projects from April through May this year.

This year, the province expanded the existing “youth participation” category to include seniors, renaming it the “youth and senior participation” category to broaden opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to take part. It also stepped up online and offline outreach to encourage greater participation by residents.

In addition, to make reviews of proposed projects more thorough, the subcommittee review process was conducted in two stages: a first-stage written review and a second-stage in-person review.

The province selected the final projects after conducting preliminary reviews of each proposal, assessing the need for and feasibility of the projects, and holding an online vote among residents.

Based on the residents’ vote, the five projects with the most votes were selected as outstanding proposals: building parking lots for personal mobility devices in Changwon City; installing delineators on the curbs of traffic islands at roundabouts in Gyeongsangnam-do; creating safe pedestrian paths in Namhae County; improving the streetscape along the school route to Naedeok Elementary School, including the underground tunnel at Jangyu Station, in Gimhae City; and applying high-visibility colored pavement to a high-risk accident section in Uiryeong County.

The province plans to present the proposers of the outstanding projects with awards, including commendations from the governor.

Members of the Gyeongsangnam-do Participatory Budgeting Committee pose for a commemorative photo at the committee's 2026 plenary meeting. [Photo provided by Gyeongsangnam-do]

The number of projects submitted this year increased by 121 compared with last year. The number of residents who took part in the vote also rose by 680 from last year, reaching 3,171.

The projects selected at this general meeting will be finalized after deliberation and approval by the provincial council in December.

The province plans to systematically monitor the progress of each project to ensure that next year’s projects proceed as planned.

Park Seongmin, head of the Planning and Coordination Office, said, “Participatory budgeting is an important system that incorporates residents’ voices into the budget and brings change to local communities. We will continue to expand opportunities for residents to participate so that their input can shape policy and, in turn, improve their lives. We will also work to ensure that the selected projects deliver tangible results.”

Attention is focused on whether these participatory budgeting projects will go beyond reflecting residents’ voices in policy and deliver tangible results by easing everyday inconveniences and promoting balanced development across regions.

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