Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae met consecutively with National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts Chairman Rhee Kwang-deung and Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Han Byung-do on October 27 to request the parliament's cooperation in resolving the province's "fiscal crisis."

Speaking to reporters after the meetings at the National Assembly yesterday (October 27), Governor Choo stated, "Our available financial resources for next year amount to only 1.5 trillion won, which is 43% of [2026]," adding, "I made an urgent appeal, asking them to give us an oxygen tank so that we can overcome what is effectively a fiscal crisis and emergency."

Citing a report by the National Assembly Research Service, she said, "Firefighting administration is explicitly designated as autonomous affairs by law, but national affairs account for 43%, national-local joint affairs 23%, and local affairs 34%." She continued, "I told them that the state should shoulder the financial burden at roughly a 56 to 44 ratio."

She explained, "[Chairman Rhee and Floor Leader Han] expressed their agreement," adding, "It seemed to be in the sense that determining the ratio of state responsibility could serve as a baseline, and that they would study various measures."

She also noted, "The goal of achieving a 7-to-3 distribution ratio between national and local taxes was adopted as national agenda item No. 53, and I have previously proposed raising the local consumption tax from 25% to 40% to achieve this goal," adding, "I asked once again for their help so that this can be implemented immediately."

In addition, Governor Choo shared that during her meeting with Chairman Rhee, she discussed how "if someone maintains a residence in Seoul while entering a nursing home in Gyeonggi Province, a contradiction arises where taxes are paid to Seoul while welfare services are received in Gyeonggi Province," and noted, "We agreed to seek appropriate legislative and policy solutions to resolve this."
 
(Photo: Yonhap News)