Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Chan-dae) visited the National Assembly on September 14 and formally launched efforts to secure an additional 93.9 billion won in state funding for major projects that were not reflected in the government budget proposal. With the government having submitted its budget bill for next year to the National Assembly on September 3, the city intends to have regional priority funding reflected to the greatest extent possible during the parliamentary review stage.
 [코리안투데이] Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae visits the National Assembly to discuss securing state funding with ruling and opposition leaders © 장형임 기자 |
On this day, Mayor Park Chan-dae met in succession with key ruling and opposition lawmakers, including Special Committee on Budget and Accounts Chairman Lee Kwang-jae, Democratic Party Floor Leader Han Byung-do, and People Power Party Floor Leader Chung Jom-sik, requesting support so that Incheon’s major priority projects could receive additional funding during the parliamentary budget review. At these meetings, the city also conveyed its position regarding the government’s proposed establishment of a Future Response Fund.
During this visit, Incheon City requested additional state funding for the following: raising the state subsidy rate for the local gift certificate ‘Incheon e-eum’; incorporating the metropolitan express (M) bus into the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s semi-public operation system; operational support for Incheon’s administrative system reorganization; expansion of the I-Food Park public wastewater treatment facility; the natural disaster risk improvement zone project; upgrading the electronic scoreboard at the Incheon football stadium; the creation of a quantum-bio mega cluster; and an AI-based demonstration project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. The city also called for the National Assembly’s attention to ensure that state-run projects underway in Incheon, such as the GTX-B line and the Gyeyang–Ganghwa expressway, proceed as planned without disruption.
The major projects for which Incheon City requested funding include: raising the state subsidy rate for the local gift certificate ‘Incheon e-eum’ (from 3–7% to 5–10% or higher); incorporating the metropolitan express (M) bus (Seoul↔Incheon) into the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s semi-public operation system (4.8 billion won); operational support for the administrative system reorganization (49 billion won); expansion of the I-Food Park public wastewater treatment facility (2.4 billion won); the natural disaster risk improvement zone project (1.5 billion won); modernizing the electronic scoreboard at the Incheon football stadium (1.8 billion won, subject to a planned public offering); and the AI-based demonstration project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector (3 billion won).
In particular, Incheon City is putting its weight behind securing state funding for the early settlement of newly created autonomous districts under the administrative system reorganization. As the 49 billion won needed to establish the new districts of Jemulpo-gu, Yeongjong-gu, and Geomdan-gu was not reflected in the government’s 2027 budget proposal, the city requested that this amount be additionally reflected during the parliamentary review. Citing the grounds for support under the ‘Act on the Establishment of Jemulpo-gu, Yeongjong-gu, and Geomdan-gu’ and precedents of government support for merged local governments such as Changwon and Cheongju, the city emphasized the need for national-level financial support to ensure the stable establishment of the reorganized administrative system. Given that a lack of financial backing for the new districts could lead to administrative gaps and resident inconvenience in the early stages of the reorganization, whether this state funding is secured is a matter directly linked to residents’ daily lives.
The city also called for expanded support in the areas of public welfare and transportation. Along with raising the state subsidy rate to fund cashback for the local gift certificate ‘Incheon e-eum,’ Incheon City requested state funding to incorporate into the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s semi-public operation system those routes—among the 14 metropolitan express (M) bus routes in Incheon—that have been in service for three years or more. If the incorporation into the semi-public system is realized, the stability of route operations would improve, which could lead to better service conditions for commuters.
Regarding the establishment of the Future Response Fund, the city expressed concern over its impact on local finances and called for institutional supplementation. Incheon City conveyed its position that if the fund’s creation reduces the resources available for local subsidy grants, the autonomy of local finances could be weakened, and it requested the National Assembly’s attention and support for measures such as excluding surplus internal tax revenue from the fund’s resources and not imposing mandatory local matching contributions when the fund is used.
Meanwhile, Incheon City has had a record 7.0863 trillion won in state funding reflected in next year’s government budget proposal. This is the result of continuous consultations with government ministries and the National Assembly to advance four core strategic projects, the expansion of transportation infrastructure, and projects that residents can directly feel.
Mayor Park Chan-dae said, ‘Although we have secured a record amount of state funding, in order to carry out Incheon’s core projects without disruption, it is important to additionally secure, during the parliamentary review, the projects that were not reflected in the government budget proposal.’ He added, ‘For the Future Response Fund as well, the central and local governments must consult sufficiently and put institutional safeguards in place so that the creation of the fund does not diminish local governments’ own independent revenue sources.’
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화코리안브랜드대상 신청 최고경영인대상 신청 소비자만족도대상 신청
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