Gyeonggi Province Mayors and Governors Association Urges Withdrawal of Increased Local Government Funding Burden

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Eom In-yong] The Gyeonggi Province Mayors and Governors Association (Chair Ju Gwang-deok, Mayor of Namyangju) has expressed serious concerns about the central government and Gyeonggi Province excessively raising the financial contribution rates of basic local governments in national and provincial subsidy projects ahead of the 2026 budget formulation, and has urged immediate improvements, it was announced on the 4th.

In particular, Gyeonggi Province is reducing its own contribution ratio in policy projects including the provincial governor's pledge projects and demanding additional contributions of up to 20% from municipalities and counties.

This is a unilateral and unjust measure that ignores the reality of basic local governments. Each municipality and county is already facing difficulties in taking on additional burdens amid already vulnerable financial situations.

Currently, the 31 municipalities and counties of Gyeonggi Province are in a situation where they have no choice but to reduce their own project volumes by the amount of Gyeonggi Province's budget cuts due to the increase in contribution rates.

As a result, concerns are growing that projects jointly promoted by the province and municipalities and counties—including △regional development, △welfare, and △public infrastructure—will be suspended or substantially reduced.

Concerns are particularly significant in that this could affect core projects directly linked to residents' lives, including health, environment, and education.

Ju Gwang-deok, chair of the Gyeonggi Province Mayors and Governors Association, stated, "If the structure of Gyeonggi Province passing its financial burden to municipalities and counties continues, each municipality and county will inevitably have to reduce or suspend projects, and the damage will be borne entirely by residents," and added, "It is undesirable for policies to emphasize only the responsibility of basic local governments."