Park Chan-dae: "We will safeguard livelihoods"... Incheon City sets next year's budget at 15.9 trillion won, up 3.8% - 경향신문
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6.9678 trillion won for social welfare... 43.8% of the total budget
On the 5th, Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae explains the city's 2027 budget proposal in the briefing room at Incheon City Hall. Courtesy of Incheon City
The city of Incheon has drawn up next year's budget at 15.9 trillion won, up 3.8% from this year.
On the 5th, Incheon said it submitted the 2027 budget proposal to the Incheon City Council, an increase of 574.0 billion won from this year's 15.326 trillion won. The city's budget proposal totals 12.1533 trillion won in the general account and 3.7467 trillion won in the special accounts.
Incheon explained that next year's draft was prepared under three principles: maintaining and expanding welfare and livelihood spending directly tied to residents' lives; investing in future growth areas with resources secured through project adjustments; and the planned use of municipal bonds needed for major investment projects.
By key investment area, the amounts are 8.2 trillion won for livelihood recovery and citizen-centered welfare, 600 billion won for future growth sectors, 2.4 trillion won for infrastructure expansion and old downtown renewal, and 2.8 trillion won to enhance citizen safety and quality of life.
The social welfare budget is 6.9678 trillion won, up 10.1% from this year, accounting for 43.8% of the total. It focuses on continuing tailored support across the life cycle and protecting vulnerable groups to ease household burdens.
Support for the local currency, the Incheon e-eum card, will also be strengthened. The cashback budget is set at 210.0 billion won, up 74.9 billion won from this year, to ensure stable year-round operations. The 10% cashback benefit at affiliated merchants with annual sales of 3 billion won or less will be maintained, and the monthly usage cap eligible for cashback will be raised from 300,000 won to 500,000 won.
To help restore the livelihood economy of small businesses and rural and fishing communities, 654.3 billion won has been allocated. A 10.0 billion won contribution to special guarantees for small businesses and 12.6 billion won in interest subsidies will support the stability of neighborhood commercial districts.
For birth and child-rearing, the city reflected 46.9 billion won for the Angel Support Fund, 35.4 billion won for the child-welcoming support grant, 14.8 billion won for the basic child allowance, 12.9 billion won for the marriage support grant, and 7.2 billion won for transportation subsidies for pregnant women.
To stabilize housing and support independence for young people, it will provide 12.2 billion won in monthly rent support and 4.3 billion won for the 'Employed Youth Dream for Youth Account' program.
It also set aside 8.4 billion won for 1,000-won housing for newlyweds, 3.0 billion won to subsidize interest on 1.0 loans for households with newborns, and 3.7 billion won to assist victims of jeonse fraud. For housing stability programs such as housing benefits and purchase and jeonse leases, 391.7 billion won has been allocated.
On-site response capabilities for citizen safety will also be strengthened. Despite a decrease in the central government's fire safety grant, the fire special-account budget was set at 477.0 billion won, an increase of 28.5 billion won from this year. The city will invest 6.8 billion won in personal protective equipment such as firefighting suits, 9.7 billion won to replace aged fire engines and ambulances, and 2.2 billion won in rescue and emergency equipment, and it will newly introduce unmanned firefighting robots for use at hazardous scenes.
Support for crime victims will be significantly reinforced following recent stabbing rampage incidents. The budget for the Crime Victim Support Center was expanded to 300 million won, and 100 million won was newly earmarked to support victims of abnormal-motive crimes.
For future growth, 316.6 billion won will be allocated to foster advanced industries such as AI, biotech, content, and energy (ABC+E), and 268.7 billion won will go toward the growth of small and venture businesses and job creation. Next year, the city will promote the establishment of industrial hubs, demonstrations, feasibility studies, and strategy development, and, by linking these with efforts to attract private investment, lay the foundations of the industrial ecosystem.
A total of 2.4 trillion won will be invested in expanding transportation infrastructure and revitalizing older downtown areas. The city plans to spend 1.1384 trillion won to build a metropolitan transportation network and core transportation facilities, 997.4 billion won to support urban transportation use, and 228.7 billion won to revitalize old downtowns, in order to improve mobility and promote balanced regional development.
In particular, it will push to have the Korean Peninsula East-West Peace Logistics Expressway, which would connect Incheon International Airport to Goseong in Gangwon, reflected in national plans and to create the Ganghwa Peace Economic Special Zone.
It will allocate 5.7 billion won to subsidize ferry fares for island residents and will newly start supporting island ferry fares for military personnel.
A new 1.6 billion won budget was also set for activities to bid for the 2028 G20 Summit. The city plans to step up its bid to promote Incheon's industrial competitiveness, transportation conditions, and historical and cultural assets to the international community and broaden opportunities for global investment and exchanges.
Incheon plans to issue local bonds in a planned manner for major investment projects while managing the managed-debt ratio at around 15.3%, lower than the 15.6% in the original budget baseline.
Mayor Park said, "Next year's budget will steadily continue the fiscal support needed for citizens' daily lives while investing in future growth, and we will responsibly manage it so that the budget allocated is executed in the field in a timely manner".
