Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks at a seminar held in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, on July 30.NEWS1
The Seoul city government allocated a supplementary budget of nearly 3 trillion won ($2.1 billion) to bolster its city-run welfare support for housing, EV mobility service and AI education, according to a budget bill presented to the municipal council on Monday.
The proposed 2.81 trillion won extra budget is the city's second this year. Of the total, 1.87 trillion won, or 66.6 percent has been reserved for supporting districts and the city’s education office and public funds. The amount consists of legally mandated expenditures that the city government cannot spend at its own discretion.
That leaves about 810 billion won in funds the city can spend at its discretion. If the city council, where the opposition holds a majority, approves the proposal without changes, the yearly total budget for the city will increase to 56.57 trillion won from 53.77 trillion won.
A substantial portion of the new spending is earmarked for strengthening support for vulnerable groups.
The city has set aside 222.1 billion won as the number of people eligible for livelihood and medical benefits rises from 580,000 to 607,000. The heightened median income — the threshold used to determine eligibility for public welfare programs — increased the number of eligible recipients.
It has also set aside 44 billion won for housing benefits for 17,000 households and 13 billion won to purchase public rental housing near subway stations.
High-rise apartment buildings are seen from Lotte World Tower in southern Seoul on Aug. 7.YONHAP
The Seoul city government allocated 4.8 billion won to modernize Eunpyeong Hospital in northern Seoul, with completion scheduled for January next year, and 7.6 billion won to expand and upgrade features at Seonam Hospital in Yangcheon District, western Seoul.
An additional 2.1 billion won has been earmarked for medical assistance for people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
For emerging industrial sectors, the city plans to inject 40.3 billion won to facilitate public usage of EVs. The city will expand purchase subsidies to cover an additional 5,790 EVs and install an additional 41 fast-charging stations for electric buses. It also plans to spend 500 million won to expand the late-night autonomous-driving taxi fleet from the current three vehicles to 19, which operates in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.
Another 5.6 billion won has been allocated to strengthen young people's AI skills. If the proposal passes as submitted, the city will be able to provide 500,000 students and job seekers aged 19 to 29 with one-year subscriptions to advanced generative AI services, such as coding and AI agent tools.
For public safety and infrastructure, the city has allocated 7.2 billion won to build or expand stormwater pumping stations in Yangjae in southern Seoul, Yeongdeungpo in western Seoul and Geumho in eastern Seoul.
An installation of a 17,800-square-meter (4.4-acre) stormwater pumping station in Siheung-dong, Geumcheon District, southern Seoul, will cost 1 billion won. The neighborhood suffered flood damage four years ago.
The city also plans to spend 17.7 billion won to replace aging subway train cars on lines Nos. 6 and 7.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, left, looks newborn babies at the city-managed postpartum nursery in western Seoul on Aug. 3.NEWS1
The supplementary budget also expands support for marriage, childbirth and child care. The city plans to spend 4.1 billion won to increase the number of pregnant women aged 35 and older eligible for medical expense assistance from 20,000 to 28,000.
The budget provided for vouchers given to children whose birth was registered within the past year, worth 2 million won to 3 million won per child, was increased by 3.1 billion won.
The city also increased funding by 1.1 billion won for a monthly 100,000 won allowance for children cared for at home rather than at nurseries and kindergartens.
Another 1.9 billion won has been earmarked for health programs, including sports vouchers for people with disabilities and an expansion of city-run gyms.
The proposal also includes funding for new initiatives under Mayor Oh Se-hoon's current term, chief among them a push to revitalize nighttime spending.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon participates in an evening hour-yoga class held at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Aug. 5.YONHAP
Among the line items is 1.1 billion won to launch the tentatively named "Moonlight Gift Certificate" (translated), a local currency redeemable only during nighttime hours across five designated night market zones. The city is separately reviewing a plan to issue up to 10 billion won worth of the certificates in total, though that figure has not been finalized.
The proposal also earmarked 300 million won for the so-called Namsan Night Festival, 200 million won for the "Namsan Firefly Garden" (translated) and 200 million won for nighttime cultural programs at Unhyeon Palace in Jongno District, central Seoul.
"The first supplementary budget prepared in April focused on providing emergency assistance to vulnerable groups and small-business owners affected by high oil prices," Lee Dong-ryul, acting head of the planning and administration office at the city government, said. "The latest supplementary budget also provides support for young people, small-business owners and those struggling with housing costs, while investing in industries that could drive future growth.”
BY KIM MIN-WOOK [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
