Ulsan Metropolitan Council Cuts 3.7 Billion Won from Third Supplementary Budget, Bringing Dispute with Ulsan City to a Temporary Close

【Financial News Ulsan = reporter Choi Soo-sang】 The conflict between Ulsan Metropolitan City and the Ulsan Metropolitan Council, which erupted over budget cuts to Mayor Kim Sang-wook’s first signed initiative, has temporarily come to an end. Both sides appear to have taken a step back for now, but attention is turning to the administrative audit scheduled for November and next year’s budget deliberations.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Council held the second plenary session of the first regular session of its 267th session at the main chamber on the 16th. It voted on agenda items reviewed by the standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, concluding its 17-day schedule.
The plenary session handled 35 agenda items, including four budget bills, 15 ordinance bills, two settlement bills, seven consent motions, and three resolutions.
The council approved, with revisions, Ulsan Metropolitan City’s third supplementary budget of 126.4 billion won, cutting 3.6798 billion won from the budgets of 21 projects.
Major cuts included 100 million won for operating the 120 Ulsan Civil Complaints Center, 850 million won for undergrounding utilities along the route to Samho Elementary School, and 689.25 million won for operating the Sunflower Center.
The council also cut 16.188 billion won from 12 projects in the 37.835 billion-won third supplementary budget for the special education account submitted by the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education.
The cuts included 12.745 billion won for purchasing the site of the Ulsan Student Safety Experience Education Center and 1.963 billion won for a project to restore trust in the educational community, citing the urgency and feasibility of the projects.

However, 22 million won for improving the counseling management system and 31 million won in personnel expenses for newly hired staff at Seoul headquarters—both part of the budget for the 120 Ulsan Civil Complaints Center, Mayor Kim Sang-wook’s first signed initiative after taking office—were restored through an adjustment by the council’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts on the 14th and passed at the plenary session.
Park Yong-geol, chairman of the council’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, said at the time, "Although the Seoul headquarters personnel budget violates the Local Public Officials Appointment Decree and budgetary principles, it was unavoidable to restore the funding because the council could not pass the disadvantage on to public officials currently working there in accordance with the hiring procedures and personnel appointments."
Regarding the civil complaints center budget, he explained, "We determined that the budget for improving the counseling management system was essential to carrying out the project." Mayor Kim Sang-wook and the Ulsan Metropolitan Council had been sharply at odds over the complete cuts to the 120 Ulsan Civil Complaints Center budget and Seoul headquarters personnel expenses, even engaging in an outside-the-chamber confrontation on the 11th. By respecting the committee’s decision, both sides ultimately took a step back.
Mayor Kim said, "I am deeply disappointed, but I am also grateful that we were able to cooperate with the council, even if only partially." He added, "The Seoul headquarters budget is necessary for relocating public institutions and securing national funds, and I am relieved that some funding was reflected for the civil complaints center so that it can function normally, even if that happens next year."



Meanwhile, members delivered a series of pointed five-minute free speeches during the plenary session. Gong Jin-hyeok urged the city to faithfully honor its promises to support residents of Cheongnyang-eup and Yangdong Village in connection with the relocation of the military base in Ok-dong. Cho Seong-cheol called for projects commemorating the 1987 pro-democracy movement and the Great Workers’ Struggle, while Baek Hyeon-jo strongly criticized the lack of communication with the council during the process of converting city buses to a public operating system.
During the subsequent interpellation, Lee Eun-joo questioned officials on the topic of “Principles and Direction for Ulsan Metropolitan City’s 2027 Main Budget.” Her questions covered budget priorities for improving residents’ quality of life and the city’s willingness to raise the ratio of adjustment grants to address fiscal disparities among autonomous districts.
Finally, Council Speaker Lee Young-hae sternly pointed out the executive branch’s lack of communication and administrative negligence, urging it to reorganize its system for communication in advance.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Council plans to hold the second regular session of its 268th session on November 2. It will handle various agenda items, including the 2026 administrative audit and Ulsan Metropolitan City’s 2027 budget bill.



[email protected] Choi Soo-sang Reporter