Seoul council cuts budgets for Oh Se-hoon's key projects

Seoul council's budget committee reviews city's second supplementary budget

Youth AI project's 5.62 billion won, nighttime economy voucher's 1.06 billion won cut in full

City vows to keep pressing council, calling projects 'investment in the future,' not one-off support

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon listens to a participant speak at a "Youth AI Startup Meeting" at Seoul Startup Hub in Mapo-gu. [Yonhap]

Key projects championed by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon — including a youth AI voucher program, efforts to boost the nighttime economy and the Han River ferry service — have hit a snag after the Seoul Metropolitan Council, where the Democratic Party of Korea holds a majority, slashed budgets for the initiatives. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the projects are not one-off support measures but essential investments in the city's future, and it is actively working to persuade the council.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts reviewed the city's second supplementary budget for 2026 on Wednesday morning. During a preliminary review of the bill on Monday, the council cut a large portion of the city's projects. In particular, the budget for the "Youth AI Growth Voucher Support" project under the Future Youth Planning Bureau — 5.62 billion won ($4.19 million) — was cut entirely. The project, the first youth policy of Seoul's ninth popularly elected administration, aimed to close the AI information gap by giving 500,000 young Seoulites access to generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Gemini. In July, Mayor Oh personally explained the "youth AI basic right" initiative, saying, "Investment in young people is the surest investment in Seoul's future and the surest growth strategy for making Seoul a top-three global city."

If the budget remains fully cut in this supplementary bill, the project could become difficult to carry out. A Seoul city official said, "As this is one of the city's core youth policies, we will do our best to fully explain its necessity to council members so that it can be reflected in the budget," adding, "If it is cut in this supplementary budget, we plan to include it in next year's main budget so the project can move forward."

Seoul city council member Lee Sung-bae of the PPP said, "Just as we made free Wi-Fi available in public places, AI should now be accessible to everyone regardless of their economic situation." He added, "Support for AI use is not merely a cost — it is an opportunity and a ladder that helps young people leap toward a better future."

The cut to the youth AI support budget was decided based on the position of the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority on the council. Democratic Party council members reportedly cited the project's insufficient preparation as the reason.

During the budget committee's review Wednesday, questions continued over the youth AI support project.

Seoul city council member Ju Moo-yeol of the Democratic Party said, "Rather than first setting a target of 500,000 young people to support and presenting a budget, it seems necessary to first assess how much young people are actually using AI on university campuses, and then come up with support measures that fit those findings."

Council member Choi Jong-boo of the PPP stressed the project's necessity, saying, "In a field like AI technology that is advancing by the day, time is an important asset," and, "This is a point where AI support and education for young people are needed as soon as possible." He continued, "It is hard to understand cutting the entire budget so the project cannot proceed at all, when any shortcomings could instead be addressed through a pilot program."

Nogari Alley in Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

Those projects are not the only ones to see their budgets cut in this supplementary bill. In the preliminary review Monday, the council trimmed several nighttime economy revitalization programs: 1.06 billion won for issuing nighttime economy vouchers, cut in full; 145 million won for building outdoor dining zones and their management systems across districts, cut in full; funding for the Seoul Cinema Center's nighttime cinema-and-food program, reduced from 150 million won to 100 million won; 55 million won for day-and-night cultural events at the Seoul Digital Industrial Complex (G-Valley), cut in full; 290 million won for the Seoul Night Super Pass, cut in full; and 200 million won for the Seoul Gastronomic Night Tour, cut in full.

The council also cut budgets for several other programs: leisure sports promotion, reduced by 618 million won from 4.16 billion won to 3.54 billion won; a master plan for a Han River pedestrian bridge, reduced by 100 million won from 410 million won to 310 million won; construction of practice rooms and other facilities for the Seoul Ballet, cut in full at 765 million won; operation of Seoul Fitness 9988 certification centers, reduced by 100 million won from 1.25 billion won to 1.15 billion won; and a healthy-meals support program for young people, cut in full at 24 million won. Of the 5.59 billion won set aside to reinforce mooring facilities at Han River ferry docks, 288 million won was also cut.

For this second supplementary budget, the city allocated 2.81 trillion won, a 5.2 percent increase from its previously confirmed budget of 53.77 trillion won. If the council passes the bill, Seoul's total budget for the year will reach 56.57 trillion won.

A senior Seoul city official said, "Youth AI support and the nighttime economy are not simple one-off support projects but investments in the future aimed at addressing the AI gap and creating new consumption and tourism demand in Seoul." The official added that the cuts "could be seen as going beyond policy scrutiny and instead amount to political obstruction of the ninth popularly elected administration's core projects," and said the city would "continue negotiating with the council until the end, explaining the necessity and effects of the projects so that the needed budget can be reasonably restored" before the plenary session review.

ikson@heraldcorp.com