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Ulsan municipal initiatives and fiscal challenges

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2026-09-01 06:05 UTC → 2026-09-16 03:22 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Ulsan Metropolitan City is implementing various administrative, economic, and fiscal initiatives. To generate non-tax revenue, the city is recruiting bidders for its ‘2026 Bus Stop Name Co-branding Paid Sale Project’ from September 14 to 16. This program targets 129 bus stops in commercial areas, such as Hakseong-ro and Samsan-ro, allowing companies to display names on signage and announcements for three years. Since 2021, this award-winning initiative has generated 615 million won. To stimulate long-term economic development, the city has established the 50 billion won ‘Ulsan Future Growth Fund’. Utilizing 35 billion won from the government’s fund-of-funds as seed money, the fund includes contributions from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, NH Nonghyup Bank, BNK Kyongnam Bank, UNIST, and Korea Zinc. It aims to support sectors including shipbuilding, automobiles, secondary batteries, and energy, with plans to establish sub-funds exceeding 63 billion won. Despite these growth efforts, the city faces significant fiscal pressure. A reported revenue shortage of 423.9 billion KRW across the Jung-gu, Nam-gu, Dong-gu, and Buk-gu districts has prompted local council member Lee Jang-geol to advocate for increasing the adjustment grant rate from 20% to at least 23%. ~~This would bring Ulsan in line with other major cities like Busan and Gwangju.~~ Additionally, the city is pursuing a phased expansion of financial support for the bus industry to address deficits and resolve approximately 81.3 billion KRW in unpaid severance ~~pay, targeting a 100% deficit support rate by 2027.~~ pay. Following the approval of the third supplementary budget for 2026, the city’s total budget has exceeded 6 trillion won, reaching 6,114.8 billion won. The approval process involved political tension between Mayor Kim Sang-wook and the City Council. While some funds were partially restored, the council implemented cuts to projects such as the ‘120 Ulsan Civil Service Center’ and the ‘Seoul Office’, as well as 850 million won for the Samho Elementary School school zone undergrounding project and 1.2 billion won for raw water purchase costs.

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