Budget policy council convenes at National Assembly

Lawmakers unite across party lines to secure national funds, resolve local priorities

Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae poses for a photo with attending lawmakers at the 2026 Incheon Regional Lawmakers-Incheon Metropolitan City Budget Policy Council held at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [Incheon City]
Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae poses for a photo with attending lawmakers at the 2026 Incheon Regional Lawmakers-Incheon Metropolitan City Budget Policy Council held at the National Assembly on Wednesday. [Incheon City]

Incheon Metropolitan City and its ruling and opposition lawmakers have activated a cross-party "one team" framework to secure national funding for 2027 and resolve long-standing local priorities.

Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae convened the Incheon Regional Lawmakers-Incheon City Budget Policy Council at the National Assembly on Wednesday morning, with ruling and opposition lawmakers from the region in attendance.

The council marked the first bipartisan gathering of the ninth directly elected city administration, following separate consultations with the Democratic Party of Korea in September.

With the National Assembly's formal review of the 2027 government budget now underway, Incheon City said it would consolidate political support to defend the record 7.09 trillion won ($5.28 billion) already reflected in the government's proposal while pursuing additional funding for key projects that were either excluded or require increased allocations.

Mayor Park presented lawmakers with a total of 34 priority tasks — 10 projects seeking increased national funding, 8 legislative enactment or amendment tasks, and 16 major pending issues — and called for comprehensive cooperation at the Assembly level.

Key requests submitted to the Assembly for increased national funding include support for administrative restructuring operations, Incheon M-Bus service subsidies, the Incheon e-eum regional gift voucher program, gap-coverage childcare fee support under the Nuri curriculum, and construction of a comprehensive emergency training center for the Gyeonggi-Incheon area.

Legislative and regulatory reform requests include the swift passage of a bill to establish the Incheon Bio Science and Technology Institute, measures to address a future-response fund for local fiscal stability, and amendments to laws governing military facility relocation. Future development and balanced-growth priorities include hosting the 2028 G20 summit in Incheon, designating Songdo as a global AI hub, developing Ganghwa as a national base for peace and economic activity, and the rational relocation of public institutions and central government agencies.

"There can be no distinction between ruling and opposition parties when it comes to the livelihoods and safety of our citizens and Incheon's future growth," Park said at the council. "We will spare no effort through the final stages of the Assembly's budget review to ensure that key projects directly tied to residents' daily lives proceed without disruption."

Incheon City said it plans to maintain real-time coordination with local lawmakers from this council through the Assembly's final budget vote, with the dual aim of protecting the allocations already in the government's submitted proposal and securing additional funding.


gilbert@heraldcorp.com