Seocho-gu Council Kicks Off First Regular Session of the 10th Term — W1.04tr Supplementary Budget Up for Review

The Seocho-gu Council opened the first plenary session of its 352nd regular session on Monday, launching a 22-day schedule that runs through Sept. 21.

The session — the first regular session since the 10th-term council took office — will cover a review of the fiscal year 2025 settlement and discretionary reserve expenditure approval, district administration questions, and deliberation on the second supplementary budget for fiscal year 2026.

The council will begin with the settlement review. Each standing committee will examine the settlement records of its relevant departments through Thursday, after which the Special Budget and Settlement Committee will conduct a comprehensive review.

The second plenary session on Friday will take up district administration questions, with the executive branch delivering its responses at the third plenary session on Sept. 10. Standing committees will then review the supplementary budget bill from Sept. 11, with the Budget and Settlement Committee conducting a final check from Sept. 16 to Sept. 18. All agenda items are set to be finalized at the fourth plenary session on Sept. 21.

At Monday's first plenary session, the council voted to appoint members of the Budget and Settlement Committee for the settlement review, electing Kim An-suk as chairwoman and Jo Hui-ok as vice chairwoman. The appointed members are Assembly members Kim Hae-bareun, Oh Ji-hwan, Ha Seo-yeong, Lee Eun-gyeong, Jeong Sun-yong, Lee Seul-gi and Jeong Min-u.

Through the review, the council plans to scrutinize whether last year's budget was spent efficiently and in line with its intended purposes. "We will focus on verifying the appropriateness and legality of budget execution to strengthen the substance of future budget planning," Chairwoman Kim said.

Also at Monday's session, Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su delivered a policy address and presented the supplementary budget proposal. The bill totals approximately 1.04 trillion won ($757 million) — an increase of about 35.7 billion won, or 3.55 percent, over the base budget. The council said it will thoroughly examine whether any unnecessary expenditures are included and conduct an in-depth review of whether funds have been properly allocated to urgent and essential needs.

Council Speaker Yoo Ji-ung said in his opening remarks that he hoped members would use the session to "again carefully check whether there are any livelihood issues we should be paying closer attention to, and whether there are any blind spots in resident welfare or inconveniences we may have overlooked." He added that the council would "work together with the executive branch to ensure that today's efforts bear better fruit in the lives of our residents, carrying out our legislative duties with a sense of responsibility."