Jeonju City is at the bottom of available resources, half of large-scale facility investment likely to be halted

Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do, facing a financial crisis, is taking steps to tighten its belt by reducing facility investment costs exceeding 1 trillion won.

Jeonju City's Special Committee on Financial Innovation held a press conference at City Hall on the 12th and announced comprehensive recommendations containing fiscal management principles, revenue expansion, expenditure innovation, and adjustment directions for large-scale facility investment projects.

According to the Special Committee on Finance and Innovation, Jeonju City's independent financial resources in 2027 are KRW 1.259 trillion, but KRW 1.2326 trillion is required for essential expenses and repayment of local bonds, so a deficit of KRW 26.7 billion is inevitable.

It is difficult to issue additional local bonds as available financial resources are depleted and the managed debt ratio reaches 22.53% at the end of this year.

Accordingly, the special committee reexamined 104 large-scale facility investment projects worth 2 billion won or more from the beginning.

It was recommended that 51 projects be reflected and 53 projects be put on hold, considering legal obligations, losses in case of suspension, and whether they are essential to citizens' lives.

If the adjustment plan is realized, the municipal cost burden from 2027 to 2030 will be reduced from the original 1.7604 trillion won to 670.4 billion won, resulting in a total financial savings of 1.09 trillion won.

For projects under construction, financial pressure is distributed by dividing the period and scale, and for projects before construction begins, except for essential projects, they are halted.

It was decided to block the increase in debt by limiting the issuance of local bonds within the scope of the principal repayment amount.

In the revenue sector, the collection of arrears will be strengthened and the basic data for calculating allocated taxes will be improved.

Public charges, such as volume-rate bag prices, sports facility usage fees, and water and sewage fees, will be realized step by step by weighing the cost and the burden on the common people.

In the expenditure sector, private current, event, and capital subsidies will be cut by 20% every year until 2030, and customary event fees and unrestricted labor costs will be cut out.

The cost and settlement system for private consignment projects such as buses and cleaning will also be reorganized to be transparent.

Vice Chairman Kim Gap-ryong emphasized, “We must first protect the services essential to citizens’ lives and invest in the future to the extent we can afford,” adding, “It is a painful decision, but it is a process that Jeonju must go through in order to leap forward as a sustainable city.”

Jeonju City plans to finalize a specific budget allocation direction in consultation with the city council based on this recommendation.