It was reported on the 25th that the Seocho District suffered severely from a 'budget turmoil' at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. It is said that the budget plan that had been agreed upon by the district council was unilaterally discarded by council members belonging to the opposition party. In response, the ruling party members occupied the main assembly hall. Consequently, the opposition handled the amended budget independently at a different location. The district did not accept this budget and prepared a quasi-budget applying last year's budget as it was. Ultimately, while the district accepted the budget passed by the opposition, the conflict continues.
On the surface, this situation seems to be the result of a confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties in the district council, but there are claims that the actions of the local district member of the National Assembly were behind it. A resident said, "The bad aspects of central politics are also occurring in local autonomy."
◇The Democratic Party stated that "the results of the public opinion survey indicated the need for cuts" vs The People Power Party claimed that "the survey was conducted only among people with Democratic Party tendencies."
According to Seocho District on the 2nd, the district is currently executing the 2025 budget of 786.5 billion won, which was passed solely by the council members of the Democratic Party at the end of last year, starting from the 10th. Previously, the budget was not properly executed for 52 days following its passage by the Democratic Party alone. The Seocho District and council members of the People Power Party argue that the cause of the impasse was the unilateral agreement termination by the Democratic Party members.
On December 17th of last year, the floor leaders of the three parties, People Power Party, Democratic Party, and Reform Party, agreed to handle a budget plan of 791.4 billion won at the general assembly on the 20th of the same month. However, the situation reportedly became urgent on the morning of the 20th.
Eight council members of the Democratic Party gathered around 8:30 a.m. at the regional office of National Assembly member Kim Yong-ho (Seoul Seocho) in Namgajwa-dong, Seocho District, for a general meeting. This location is about 1.2 kilometers from the Seocho District Council. It is said that Member Kim also attended this meeting. The Democratic Party council members decided to pass a revised budget plan excluding the 4.9 billion won project budget that District Head Lee Sung-heon is focusing on, breaking the agreement made three days earlier.
At this point, the arguments between the ruling and opposition parties diverge. Park Jin-woo, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated in a currency that "Member Kim Yong-ho was dissatisfied with the bipartisan agreement, leading to the modification of the budget plan." On the other hand, Seo Ho-sung, floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated that it was not the direction of Member Kim that broke the agreement, but rather, "After the agreement was made, we decided in advance to modify it in the general assembly because there were fewer Democratic Party members in the budget committee." Additionally, while the People Power Party described the general assembly held at the National Assembly member's office as "unusual," the Democratic Party remarked that it "happens occasionally."
Following the news that the budget agreement was overturned, the council members of the People Power Party occupied the main assembly hall and began a sit-in. The district head recalled nine district employees who had been dispatched to the district council. Seo, the floor leader, stated that this was an intention to prevent the holding of the general assembly, as the essential nine among the 33 district council staff, including the secretary general and the head of the legislative team, were withdrawn.
Later that day at 4 p.m., the Democratic Party council members held the general assembly not in the main assembly hall but in the first committee room, where they independently processed the amended 2025 budget plan. The budget committee chair, an independent member Yun Yoo-hyun, who did not participate in the vote, stated in the general assembly, "Why don't you come and serve as a basic council member here, National Assembly members?"
At that time, the budget that the Democratic Party overturned and cut included ▲ budget for the development of a cafe waterfall Hallyu culture experience center in Hongjecheon ▲ budget for classical performances ▲ operating expenses for the women's basketball team ▲ design costs for the advance preparation of the Hongje-Hongun station area revitalization project ▲ purchase costs for employee dormitories, etc. The Democratic Party claimed, "The results of the resident opinion survey indicated that the women's basketball team or employee dormitory project are policies that need cuts." However, the People Power Party rebutted, stating that "the public opinion survey was conducted only among people inclined towards the Democratic Party."
◇District head's six requests for reconsideration were ignored by the district council… quasi-budget preparation and pre-emptive measures also took place.
Seocho District stated, "According to the 'Rules of Procedure of Seocho District Council of the Seoul Special City', in order to modify a budget plan, it must undergo a review by the district council budget committee, but the amendment was immediately presented to the general assembly," thus taking the position of 'fast-tracking'. However, Democratic Party floor leader Seo Ho-sung stated during the assembly, "There is a precedent whereby the Democratic Party completely cut miscellaneous expenses when passing the 2025 budget bill in the National Assembly" and that "the amended budget from the budget committee can be modified in the general assembly," arguing that there was no issue.
After that, the district head made a total of six requests for reconsideration, but the chairman of the district council affiliated with the Democratic Party did not convene meetings, citing insufficient staff. The nine staff members that Seocho District had dispatched to the district council and then recalled have not yet returned.
Seocho District did not accept the budget plan passed by the Democratic Party and prepared a quasi-budget based on last year's budget. On the 20th of last month, the district head exercised the right of preemptive measure to enable the execution of 298 million won for 25 projects, including job creation for the elderly, school meals, and support for vulnerable groups during the Lunar New Year. The right of preemptive measure is a system that allows local government heads to use budgets without the approval of the local council.
As the Seocho District council continued to ignore the district head's requests for reconsideration of the 2025 budget plan and failed to respond to the district head's request for a temporary session, the district decided to execute the budget of 786.5 billion won that had been passed by the council as is, effective from the 10th. The district stated that it could not trust the Democratic Party council members who are not holding meetings, while also saying, "We can no longer wait for a district council that is only playing political games."
Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has reportedly determined that the budget turmoil of the Seocho District Council constitutes a violation of the Local Autonomy Act. The Ministry noted in response to an inquiry from Seocho District, "The refusal of the district council chairman to convene a temporary session in response to the request from the local government head violates the Local Autonomy Act," adding, "There is no stipulated provision about the district council's ability to return or reject the local government head's request for reconsideration." Additionally, based on the rules of procedure of the Seocho District Council, it judged that budget modifications cannot occur in the general assembly without a review by the budget committee.
◇Conflict over the location of the 102nd station of the light rail West Line two years ago is pointed out as background.
This budget turmoil is said to have a background of personal conflict between District Head Lee Sung-heon and Member Kim Yong-ho. The location for the '102nd station' near the boundary of Seocho District and Eunpyeong District was originally set to be near Eungam Elementary School in Eunpyeong District, but the district head argued two years ago that it should be changed to near Myongji College in Seocho District.
The Democratic Party claimed, "The district head informed local residents with false information that 'the Democratic Party opposes the location change.'" However, a Seocho District official stated, "At that time, Member Kim and the district council were in the position of 'Why are you trying to bring what was originally determined to be in Eunpyeong District?'."