Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae has declared a fiscal emergency, stating that Gyeonggi Province is facing a severe financial crisis.

During a press conference held today, Governor Choo stated, "Gyeonggi Province must immediately implement a reduced supplementary budget of approximately 770 billion won," adding, "If we do nothing now, we could fall into a vicious cycle where we are forced to issue local government bonds in two to three years just to pay off existing debts."

[Choo Mi-ae / Gyeonggi Governor : This means that tax revenues will decrease while mandatory expenditures increase, potentially worsening our financial conditions even further.]

Following the issuance of 943 billion won in local government bonds last year and drawing 558.8 billion won from various funds, Gyeonggi Province reportedly failed to even allocate three months' worth of budget for major livelihood and essential projects this year.

Governor Choo officially declared a "fiscal emergency," stating, "Far from pursuing new campaign promises, we are currently in a situation where it is difficult to fully maintain even ongoing projects."

It was learned that due to budget shortages during the 8th popular election term, budgets for a significant number of livelihood and essential projects were allocated for only nine months instead of twelve months this year.

The revenue structure was cited as the cause of the problem.

For example, while Seoul secures relatively stable revenue sources such as local income taxes from individuals and corporations, Governor Choo's side explained that the Gyeonggi Provincial Government headquarters lacks local income taxes.

In addition, Gyeonggi Province is a non-allocating entity that does not receive general local grants, and relies on acquisition taxes—which fluctuate significantly based on real estate transactions—for more than half of its total provincial taxes.

In fact, Gyeonggi Province's acquisition tax revenue dropped by about 30%, falling from approximately 11 trillion won in 2022 to around 8 trillion won this year.

However, some members of the opposition camp have pointed out that these financial problems began during the tenure of former Governor Lee Jae-myung.

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok claimed, "In 2021, when President Lee served his final term as Gyeonggi governor, debt surged by 64.5% in a single year to 2 trillion 911.2 billion won."

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Hye-ju | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News)