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Response to High Oil Prices, Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Busan Metropolitan City Formulates Second Supplementary Budget of KRW 550.8 Billion

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it submitted the “Second Supplementary Budget Proposal for 2026,” totaling KRW 18.7632 trillion—an increase of 3.0% from the original 2026 budget of KRW 18.2124 trillion, with a supplementary budget 규모 of KRW 550.8 billion—to the City Council on April 10.

This supplementary budget utilizes additional secured general grant tax revenues and is primarily allocated to measures for stabilizing livelihoods and revitalizing the local economy, as well as essential expenditures for public-interest financial support. It was formulated to minimize the impact of high oil prices and lay the groundwork for turning the crisis into an opportunity.

First, KRW 485.3 billion has been allocated to measures for stabilizing livelihoods and revitalizing the local economy.

Support will be provided by identifying blind spots not covered by national assistance among sectors directly affected by high oil prices.

For freight trucks and village bus operators, which face direct difficulties due to high dependency on diesel fuel, up to KRW 300,000 per vehicle will be provided to support the purchase of safe operation supplies such as engine oil, thereby alleviating operational burdens.

For coastal fishing vessels that fall outside national support coverage, part of the increased fuel costs will be subsidized to ease fishermen’s fuel cost burdens and support stable fishing operations.

In addition, farmers who own agricultural machinery will receive fuel price-linked subsidies for tax-exempt fuel to reduce their management burdens.

Efforts will also be made to ease burdens on ordinary citizens and vulnerable groups and to promote consumption for livelihood recovery.

Citizens using “Good Price Stores” will receive an additional 5% cashback on Dongbaekjeon usage amounts, thereby encouraging the use of small local businesses and promoting price stability.

To improve commuting convenience for workers in industrial complexes affected by rising fuel costs and to stabilize business operations, the number of industrial complex commuter buses will be increased from 57 to 64, adding seven buses.

To reduce citizens’ transportation cost burdens and promote public transportation use amid high oil prices, the K-Pass refund rate will be temporarily increased from 30% to up to 83%.

A total of KRW 70.5 billion in city matching funds has been allocated for the “High Oil Price Damage Support Grant Program,” which provides differentiated support ranging from KRW 150,000 to KRW 600,000 to the bottom 70% income group, ensuring swift assistance to ease the burden on low- and middle-income households.

To enhance corporate resilience and vitality, customized support tailored to the needs of specific industries and sectors will be implemented.

An additional KRW 500 billion in working capital will be provided to strengthen the management stability and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and repayment deadlines for 776 companies with maturing loans will be extended by six months, along with additional interest support.

The voucher support limit for SMEs facing export difficulties will be increased from KRW 3 million to KRW 5 million, and the overseas logistics cost support limit for the footwear industry will also be raised from KRW 2 million to KRW 5 million to strengthen export competitiveness.

To ensure stable supply of raw and subsidiary materials in the textile and fashion industry, a joint stockpiling warehouse will be established within industrial complexes to minimize supply chain risks. Support for joint purchasing of raw materials and import-export logistics costs for machinery parts companies will also be expanded to help them respond to supply chain changes.

For local seafood processing companies, up to 30% of packaging material purchase costs will be supported, with a maximum of KRW 10 million per company, to reduce export cost burdens and strengthen global competitiveness.

In addition, KRW 50 billion has been allocated for essential expenditures for public-interest financial support.

To promote public transportation use and ensure stable transportation services amid high oil prices, KRW 12.2 billion in financial support for Busan Transportation Corporation has been allocated. Additionally, KRW 7.8 billion in contributions to Busan Medical Center has been allocated to ensure stable public healthcare services and improve management conditions.

To support independent measures by district governments in response to high oil prices, KRW 30 billion has been allocated as adjustment grants to strengthen the financial capacity of local governments.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “This supplementary budget is an emergency budget to support recovery from high oil price impacts. It identifies and supports blind spots not covered by national assistance and includes customized support measures needed by businesses,” adding, “We will execute it swiftly so that these valuable financial resources can be deployed in a timely manner and provide practical assistance in recovering from high oil price impacts.”