Pohang submits second supplementary budget of W3.33tr

Pohang city government in North Gyeongsang Province has submitted a second supplementary budget of 3.33 trillion won to the city council, an increase of 81 billion won ($59.1 million) from the first supplementary budget of 3.25 trillion won ($2.37 billion), the city announced Thursday.

The city said the supplementary budget focuses on protecting livelihoods and the local economy amid difficult fiscal conditions, while ensuring that projects directly tied to public safety proceed without disruption.

To ease additional fiscal pressure, the city kept new projects to a minimum and cut 26.3 billion won after reviewing the urgency and feasibility of existing projects.

It also secured an additional 13.7 billion won in self-generated revenue by adjusting recurring expenses, unspent balances and abandoned projects, and by applying an across-the-board 5 percent cut to discretionary operating costs.

The city plans to issue 55 billion won in municipal bonds to cover a funding shortfall for ongoing projects and national and provincial cost-matching projects that are already well underway.

The bonds will be directed primarily toward completing those existing projects rather than expanding new ones.

Key spending areas include the construction of a hydrogen fuel cell cluster, a public parking tower at Hwanho Park, support for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners, local economic revitalization, clearance of disaster-prone areas, and safety inspections of public facilities.

"We will cut unnecessary spending to the maximum extent possible and concentrate fiscal resources where they are truly needed — protecting public safety and livelihoods and securing the funds required to complete projects already underway," Pohang Mayor Park Yong-seon said.