Gov. Kim Moon-soo's Election Pledges Face Budget Shortfall

Governor Kim Moon-soo of Gyeonggi Province is facing urgent challenges in securing sufficient provincial budget funding to fulfill campaign promises made during the June 2 local elections, with provincial expenditures alone estimated to exceed several trillion won.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 13th, Governor Kim pledged during his gubernatorial campaign to implement major projects ranging from tens of billions to tens of trillions of won across regional policies, welfare, education, and quality-of-life initiatives.

The total project budget including private investment, national and provincial funds, and city and county budgets amounts to over 80 trillion won.

Projects include Goyang JSD District development at 37.3 trillion won, the GTX project (Seoul metropolitan area express railway) at 18 trillion won including extension sections, Namyangju Premium New City development at 17.1 trillion won, Pyeongyang Brain City development at 4.85 trillion won, Gunza District urban development at 1.9 trillion won, and Goyang Daegok Station mixed-use complex development at 1.72 trillion won.

Particularly concerning is that provincial funding (including affiliated institutions) required for these projects alone is estimated to exceed several trillion won, raising red flags on budget procurement.

In the case of Namyangju Premium New City, jointly promoted by Gyeonggi Province, Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Urban Development Corporation, and LH Corporation, a substantial portion of the 17.1 trillion won total project budget must be borne by the province and the urban development corporation.

The Gyeonggi Urban Development Corporation, as the project implementer, must increase capital and secure bank loans to proceed. Gyeonggi Province must also invest a portion of provincial funds.

For the GTX project, of the 12 trillion won total budget (private consortium proposal), excluding 7.2 trillion won in private sector burden, 2.4 trillion won in development fees, and 1.8 trillion won in national government funding, the province must cover 175 billion won of the 600 billion won in local funding (three cities and provinces).

Furthermore, if the GTX project is extended to Namyangju, Pocheon, Pyeongtak, and Hwaseong, the province must cover a portion of the additional 6 trillion won in project expenses.

Additionally, substantial budgets are allocated for parental peace-of-mind boarding schools at 429.6 billion won (provincial, city and county funds), expansion of comprehensive care services at 200 billion won, extended childcare facility expansion at 40 billion won (city and county funds), and construction of a secondary technology center in northern Gyeonggi at 25 billion won.

However, the province's annual available budget is only approximately 900 billion won out of the total 13 trillion won budget. Several hundred billion won must be allocated to existing Seoul metropolitan area public transportation integrated transfer discounts and continuing SOC projects.

Extraordinary measures are needed to fulfill campaign pledges.

Adding to the challenge, Democratic Party candidates won mayoral races in major cities including Suwon, Anyang, Bucheon, Seongnam, Goyang, Ansan, and Siheung, meaning regional policy pledges made with non-ruling party candidates may face obstacles.

If the newly elected mayors oppose project implementation, the province lacks legal grounds to enforce compliance.