Committee oversees budget and audit reviews for Seoul city government and education office
'Will back key policies, prevent waste of taxpayer money'
Kim Young-ok, a Seoul Metropolitan Council member representing the People Power Party from Gwangjin District 3, has been appointed vice chair of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.
The committee reviews budget proposals and final accounts for the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, which together total 70 trillion won ($50.7 billion) annually. It examines whether limited public funds are efficiently allocated and spent on projects that serve citizens — including measures to stabilize livelihoods, strengthen the city's competitiveness and improve educational conditions.
Kim plans to closely scrutinize major projects undertaken by both bodies, with a focus on improving the soundness and efficiency of fiscal management. She will work to ensure that key policies closely tied to citizens' daily lives proceed smoothly, while carefully verifying the feasibility, executability and potential redundancies or wasteful elements of individual projects.
As vice chair representing the People Power Party, she also intends to facilitate smooth coordination among ruling and opposition party lawmakers, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and to ensure that citizens' needs are faithfully reflected throughout the budget deliberation process.
"I feel the weight of the responsibility of reviewing the vast budgets of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education," Kim said. "As vice chair from the ruling party, I will do my part to ensure that key policies that change citizens' lives are carried out without a hitch."
"I will rigorously verify the entire process — from budget formulation through execution and final accounting — so that not a single won of taxpayer money is wasted and every won goes where it is truly needed," she added. "Through budget reviews grounded in principle and accountability, I will work to strengthen public trust in Seoul's city administration."
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
