Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae pushes for W7.9tr in national funding for 2027

Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae has launched a push to secure national government funding for the city's key projects next year.

Park met with Minister of Planning and Budget Park Hong-keun at the Korea Public Finance Information Service on Friday, requesting government fiscal support to ensure the smooth implementation of major local initiatives.

The city put forward five priorities: expanding national funding for the local currency "Incheon e-um," providing operational support following administrative restructuring, converting metropolitan express (M-bus) routes to a quasi-public operating system, redeveloping Piers 1 and 8 at Incheon's inner harbor, and extending Incheon Metro Line 1 to the Songdo District 8 section.

The top priority was expanding national funding for the Incheon e-um local currency program.

Park said the current national funding rate of 3 to 7 percent should be raised to at least 5 to 10 percent.

He argued that greater government fiscal support is needed to strengthen the role of local currency amid a prolonged consumer spending slump.

Support tied to the city's administrative restructuring was also among the key requests.

Park said the launch of three new districts — Jemulpo-gu, Yeongjong-gu and Geomdan-gu — has significantly increased administrative demand, and asked that 69.6 billion won ($47.4 million) be included in next year's government budget to ensure a stable transition.

He also cited past national funding for merged municipalities such as Changwon and Cheongju as precedent, arguing that Incheon deserves equitable treatment.

On metropolitan transportation, Park asked the government to ease the financial burden of operating M-bus routes between Seoul and Incheon.

He explained that Incheon's M-bus routes are funded entirely by city funds, creating a heavy fiscal strain. He requested that six routes operating for more than three years be converted first to the Metropolitan Area Transport Commission's quasi-public system, with 4.8 billion won in national funding.

Alongside this, Park requested 2 billion won in national funding to support the redevelopment of Piers 1 and 8 at the inner harbor, and urged the government to actively cooperate in expediting the preliminary feasibility study for the Songdo District 8 extension of Incheon Metro Line 1.

"The projects we raised today are essential to improving residents' quality of life and laying the foundation for Incheon's future growth," Park said. "We will work closely with the government to ensure they are reflected in the budget proposal, in ways that contribute to balanced national development and Greater Seoul cooperation."

Incheon has set a target of securing more than 7.9 trillion won in national funding for 2027, including general grants, and is pursuing a phased response strategy.

Once the government's budget proposal is submitted to the National Assembly in September, the city plans to operate a dedicated "national funding task room" at its central cooperation headquarters to respond in real time throughout the budget deliberation process until the final budget is approved.