The 2027 Ulsan budget marks the first comprehensive budget reflecting the policy direction of Mayor Kim Sang-wook's administration. While the first supplementary budget focused on immediate citizen needs and issues, this main budget outlines where financial resources will be prioritized over the next year, providing a clearer picture of the new administration's policy direction. This report examines Ulsan's 2027 budget in two parts, focusing on citizen welfare and healthcare, as well as industry, transportation, and future growth.
The first main budget of Ulsan's 9th elected term emphasizes financial support for areas closely related to citizens' daily lives, such as welfare, health, and care, while expanding existing social security expenditures. It also incorporates new policy choices related to marriage, childbirth, youth settlement, and essential healthcare.
The 2027 budget proposed by Ulsan amounts to 5.99 trillion won, an increase of 346.1 billion won, or 6.1%, from the previous year. Of this, the welfare and livelihood sector accounts for 2.32 trillion won, making up 38.8% of the total budget. Compared to this year's 2.03 trillion won, welfare and health spending has increased by 289.8 billion won, or 14.3%, with allocations of 2.12 trillion won for social welfare and 200.3 billion won for health.
The budget for basic livelihood security has increased by 27.8% from the previous year, while spending in the healthcare sector has risen by 23.3%. Although a significant portion of the increase is due to structural factors such as aging and rising median income, the inclusion of new and expanded projects like integrated care, marriage support funds, childcare support, and local essential physician initiatives reflects the direction of the first main budget.
One of the most significant changes is the integration of medical, nursing, and care services within the community. Ulsan has allocated 4.7 billion won for integrated support in medical, nursing, and care services, expanding the budget by 3.2 times compared to the previous year. Additionally, 16.3 billion won will be invested in linking community care services such as emergency welfare and daily care, while 18.1 billion won will go towards customized care for the elderly and emergency safety services.
For support for individuals with disabilities and care for those with developmental disabilities, 127.6 billion won has been allocated, and 18.3 billion won is designated for mental health services, dementia care centers, and home health management, strengthening the connection between welfare and health services within the community.
The shift in welfare policy focus from simple cash support to a combination of care, health management, and daily living assistance indicates that the actual success will depend on how well these services are integrated in practice.
Budgets supporting basic living, housing, and retirement income have also seen significant increases. Ulsan has allocated 189.3 billion won for livelihood assistance, reflecting a 6.7% increase in the median income, and 268.6 billion won for medical assistance, with 79.2 billion won for housing assistance benefiting approximately 36,000 households.
For basic pensions targeting around 135,000 individuals, 492.8 billion won has been allocated, along with 28.7 billion won for disability pensions. The increase in expenditures tied to changes in beneficiaries and national systems indicates that Ulsan will need to continuously meet substantial welfare financial demands in the future.
Thus, the policy direction of the first main budget should be evaluated not just by the overall increase in welfare spending but also by the new and expanded projects chosen amid structurally rising expenditures.
In response to low birth rates and youth outmigration, Ulsan has broadened its support from marriage and childbirth to include housing and settlement. The city has allocated 12.1 billion won for child support funds, providing up to 15 million won per newborn, along with 5.3 billion won for basic child allowances and 13.4 billion won for improving the teacher-to-child ratio in daycare centers.
For marriage support, 4.8 billion won has been newly allocated, providing 1 million won per couple, while 14.8 billion won is designated for youth and newlywed housing support, including the construction of 72 youth housing units and initiatives like 'Welcome to Ulsan' and 'Youth Local Base.'
This approach aims to connect policies so that young people can settle in Ulsan and transition to marriage and parenting, moving away from a model that only supports specific moments like marriage and childbirth. By combining cash support with housing and childcare policies, future evaluations will need to assess how effectively these initiatives contribute to youth settlement and alleviate the burdens of childbirth and parenting.
In the essential healthcare sector, Ulsan has allocated 17.2 billion won to address gaps in emergency, delivery, and pediatric care, and 1.4 billion won for securing 26 contract-based essential physicians in local medical institutions.
Additionally, 22.6 billion won is allocated for national vaccinations, and 13 billion won for mental health and suicide prevention, expanding financial investments not only in treatment-focused healthcare but also in prevention and mental health areas.
In the first main budget of the 9th elected term, welfare and livelihood spending constitutes the largest portion at 2.32 trillion won. However, simply increasing the budget does not guarantee changes in citizens' lives. The effectiveness of integrated care in shifting support from hospitals and facilities to the community, the impact of marriage, childbirth, and youth housing support on settlement, and the extent to which essential healthcare investments reduce local medical gaps will serve as key criteria for evaluating this budget.
The direction of placing financial weight on citizen welfare in the first budget is clear. The next step is to translate the increased budget into tangible outcomes that citizens can feel in their daily lives.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.