Busan Metropolitan Council Cuts 32.2 Billion Won from City’s Third Supplementary Budget, Scrapping 15% Dongbaekjeon Cashback for 100 Days

[Financial News] Chun Jae-soo’s plan to raise the cashback rate for Busan’s local currency, Dongbaekjeon, from 10% to 15% for 100 days has fallen through. The Busan Metropolitan Council’s Budget and Accounts Special Committee cut the supplementary budget submitted by Busan, citing the need to minimize the local government’s financial burden.
The Busan Metropolitan Council’s Budget and Accounts Special Committee said on the 11th that it had completed its review of the budget proposals conducted from the 8th to the 10th and approved revised supplementary budgets for Busan and the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, respectively.


Busan’s third supplementary budget, approved this time, totals 19.3687 trillion won, down 32.2 billion won from the 19.4009 trillion won originally submitted to the council. The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education’s second supplementary budget rose by 77 billion won from the originally approved budget to 5.7926 trillion won, with the total approved as submitted by the education office.
In the revenue section of Busan’s general account, local bond allocations were cut for projects including the construction of an opera house, by 30 billion won; the construction of a coastal road at Dadaepo Port, by 2.1 billion won; and the establishment of a smart aquaculture big data center, by 2 billion won. By contrast, 1.9 billion won was added to the Busan Women’s Plaza construction project.
In the expenditure section of the general account, allocations were reduced for projects including the promotion of a public delivery service for small business owners, by 5 billion won; the provision of energy vouchers for small business owners, by 6 billion won; and the senior employment program, by 3.14 billion won. Meanwhile, funding was increased for projects such as support for the creation of neighborhood ESG centers, by 600 million won, and the construction of an elevated road from Gadeok Bridge to Songjeong Interchange, by 940 million won.
Of the 36.3 billion won budget for a support program to raise Dongbaekjeon’s cashback rate from 10% to 15% for 100 days, 30 billion won was cut and approved. As a result, Busan is expected to operate the higher cashback rate temporarily around the Chuseok holiday period.
Busan’s special accounts were approved without changes in the revenue section. In the expenditure section, 470 million won was added to a project to replace aging operating servers for the customer information system under the special account for the waterworks business. In addition, the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education’s second supplementary budget for this year was approved without changes in its revenue section, while expenditures were reduced for projects including the operation of an online system for handling school violence cases, by 190 million won.
Choi Hong-chan, chair of the Budget and Accounts Special Committee, explained, "In reviewing this supplementary budget, we cut the issuance of local bonds included in the proposal, with particular consideration for fiscal soundness. We also adjusted the Dongbaekjeon cashback program to minimize the city’s financial burden. We focused on the urgency of related projects so that citizens could be supported in difficult economic conditions caused by high prices and high oil costs, and so that students could receive their education in a safe environment."
[email protected] Byeon Ok-hwan Reporter