Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae said that Gyeonggi Province and its cities and counties should shift toward horizontal cooperation in responding to the fiscal crisis.
When budgets need to be reduced or subsidies adjusted, her plan is to explain the fiscal situation first and hear opinions rather than issue unilateral notifications.
However, because the 2nd supplementary budget proposal has not completed deliberation by the provincial council, it has not yet been determined whether the consultation process will lead to actual budget adjustments.
3-line summary
1. The Gyeonggi governor called for cooperation with cities and counties
2. She proposed explanations and gathering opinions before adjusting subsidies
3. Whether the supplementary budget proposal will be processed has not yet been finalized
Plan to explain matters to cities and counties first before adjusting subsidies
At a weekly meeting on October 6, Governor Choo said, in substance, that there had been dissatisfaction because the process of informing cities and counties about Gyeonggi Province’s fiscal situation had been carried out mechanically and vertically. The key point is that the province and its cities and counties should have a horizontal partnership, rather than a relationship of instructions and orders.
The sequence she proposed is relatively specific. First, she would explain the fiscal situation to deputy heads of cities and counties and the relevant departments and gather their opinions, after which the provincial governor, mayors, and county heads would meet directly to share circumstances and consult with one another. Even if budget cuts or subsidy adjustments are necessary, this means establishing a process for explaining the reasons for and effects of the adjustments in advance.
Gyeonggi Peace Newspaper and Bizworld reported that Governor Choo mentioned that the supplementary budget proposal had not completed deliberation by the provincial council. Accordingly, these remarks represent the governor’s policy of applying this approach during the fiscal adjustment process, rather than a confirmed budget execution result.
Argument that structural risks must be examined instead of “temporary difficulties”
Governor Choo said that the experience of improved fiscal conditions in the past, driven by low interest rates and increased real-estate transactions, should not be applied to the current situation without qualification. Since high interest rates and a downturn in the real-estate market may continue, her position is that the fiscal difficulties should not be viewed optimistically as something that will be easily resolved.
Based on this assessment, she also asked public officials to offer opinions that prioritize fiscal conditions. The message was that even if the provincial governor orders budget spending, officials should express their views based on expertise and accountability if they judge it difficult to bear. Rather than an announcement promising expanded budgets, this is closer to a message that the fiscal burden will be examined more strictly in the internal process of deciding expenditures.
The point to watch in these remarks is the response method, rather than the diagnosis of a “fiscal crisis” itself. No details were presented regarding which subsidies for cities and counties would be adjusted or to what extent. The actual adjustment details must be confirmed through deliberation on the supplementary budget proposal and the results of subsequent consultations.
Policy explanations planned to lead to briefings by bureau and office heads
Gyeonggi Province also said it would pursue policy briefings by heads of its bureaus and offices to strengthen communication about major policies and the fiscal situation. According to reports by the Kyungin Ilbo and BeyondPost, the format would have bureau and office heads explain major policies, new projects, and pending issues and answer questions, with briefings initially planned on a biweekly basis.
The first briefing was reportedly being prepared with a target date around October 21. Since this remains at the planning stage, whether it will actually be held and how often it will operate may change. Attention is focused on whether it will become a channel for observing what explanations publicly precede fiscal consultations with cities and counties.
References
Tags #GyeonggiGovernor #ChooMi-ae #GyeonggiFiscalAffairs #FiscalCrisis #SupplementaryBudget #SupplementaryBudgetProposal #GyeonggiProvincialCouncil #CityAndCountyConsultation #Subsidies #LocalFinance #GyeonggiProvincialAdministration #PolicyBriefing