Why Seoul Metropolitan Government is reluctant to join Gimpo in Seoul...It was because of these

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (left) and Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo discussed ways to incorporate Gimpo into Seoul at Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of the 6th.ⓒCourtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's position is drawing more attention as the plan to push for Gimpo's incorporation into Seoul has rapidly emerged as an issue in the metropolitan area. While Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been cautious every day, some observers say that the issue of financial independence could be the biggest obstacle. If Gimpo City, which has low financial independence, is incorporated into "Gimpo-gu" of Seoul, the city's support for other autonomous districts in Seoul will inevitably be concentrated in Gimpo. In addition, the amount of budget that the Seoul Metropolitan Government has to take on behalf of Gyeonggi Province, such as the "extension of Subway Line 5" project, is huge, and the fact that the capital of the Republic of Korea will become a front area for North Korea in terms of military security is acting as a negative factor for integration.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon repeatedly expressed his opinion at a meeting with Kim Byung-soo on the 6th, saying, "A careful approach is needed on the premise of consent from the residents." Mayor Oh asked the mayor of Gimpo to provide a detailed and objective analysis beyond the level of policy proposals, as well as a sufficient preliminary explanation of the concerns of Gimpo citizens.

In addition, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Gimpo City have agreed to form a joint research team to conduct in-depth research on the effects and impact of Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul. Separately, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will analyze the impact on citizens' quality of life from various angles and comprehensively study ways to enhance national competitiveness, including Seoul.

First of all, the issue of financial independence could be a stumbling block in the Seoul Metropolitan Government's push for Gimpo City to be incorporated into Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and each district office collect local taxes, but the Seoul Metropolitan Government's expenditure structure is structured to distribute the money collected from districts with high local tax revenues to districts that lack them.

In fact, according to the data on the 2022 fiscal year, the most supported district is Nowon-gu, with 319.3 billion won in grants. Next, Seongbuk-gu received 271.3 billion won, Eunpyeong-gu 270.8 billion won, and Gwanak-gu 265.2 billion won. According to the city, Gangnam-gu, which has a high degree of financial independence, is the only one among the 25 autonomous districts that does not receive mediation grants.

In addition, the financial independence of Seoul is 75.4 percent, but there is a wide gap in 25 autonomous districts. Gangnam-gu accounted for 60 percent of the districts with the highest fiscal independence. It was followed by Seocho-gu (57.3 percent), and Jung-gu (55.8 percent). On the other hand, Nowon-gu (16.5 percent), Gangbuk-gu (17.2 percent), Gwanak-gu (19.9 percent), and Dobong-gu (20 percent) had relatively low fiscal independence.

According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security's local financial integrated disclosure system, Gimpo City's financial independence is currently 37.16%, below the national average, and ranked 12th among 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province. This is the logic that if Gimpo City is incorporated into Seoul City recklessly, the city's support for districts in Seoul City, which has low financial independence, will inevitably decrease.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (left) and Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo met at the Seoul City Hall on the afternoon of the 6th to discuss ways to incorporate Gimpo into Seoul.ⓒProvided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government

If Gimpo City is incorporated into the city, it will have to hand over local income tax, automobile tax, resident tax and tobacco consumption tax, which it has collected so far, to the city government, which will inevitably further reduce its fiscal independence. The city's main budget revenue this year is 1.47 trillion won (1.54 billion dollars). Local taxes account for the largest portion of revenue. Based on this year's main budget, Gimpo City's local tax revenue is 420.2 billion won (40.2 billion dollars).

The amount is similar to the combined amount of four districts in Gangbuk-gu (107.4 billion won), Dobong-gu (108.6 billion won), Geumcheon-gu (122.7 billion won) and Seodaemun-gu (129.8 billion won). Although Gimpo's fiscal re-establishment is low, the local tax revenue itself is not a small amount. In fact, Nowon-gu, which has a similar population to Gimpo's, has a local tax revenue of 135.4 billion won (114.6 million U.S. dollars) this year, which is only 30 percent of Gimpo's. If Gimpo is incorporated into Seoul, it will have to consider the backlash from Gimpo citizens due to the decrease in local tax revenue.

Another reason why the Seoul Metropolitan Government is not very happy with Gimpo's incorporation into Seoul is that if Gimpo is incorporated, the budget to be taken on behalf of Gyeonggi Province, the metropolitan government of Gimpo City, is huge. An example is the "extension of Subway Line 5," which is considered a long-cherished project for Gimpo citizens.

In fact, Kim Byung-soo, the mayor of Gimpo, reportedly proposed a project to extend subway line 5 at a meeting with Oh on the same day, explaining the expected effect of Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul. The extension of line 5 is a project to connect Banghwa Station in Seoul, Geomdan New Town in Incheon, and Gimpo Han River New Town, and the ratio of state funding varies depending on the project owner. If the project becomes the main body of the project, the ratio of state funding will decrease from 70 percent to 40 percent. The remaining 60 percent will be borne by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

A tax expert who asked not to be named said, "Since the Seoul Metropolitan Government applies joint property tax, half of it is distributed to each autonomous district, but if it is incorporated, it should be distributed to Gimpo City." For Gimpo City, it is to receive a share of the joint tax instead of the local grant tax, which has been received so far, but it is much larger in terms of amount and the government subsidy rate is much more advantageous." He added, "Even if the property tax of Gimpo City comes in, the loss of local grant tax will be greater in Seoul."

He also said, "Infrastructure support such as Gimpo City's subway line 5 extension project should be provided, but from the perspective of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, there is an imbalance between the two Koreas due to the lack of development in Dobong-gu, Eunpyeong-gu, and Gangbuk-gu areas," adding, "There is no basis for additional state investment just because Gimpo is incorporated into Seoul, but there is no reason to raise state funds to support the megacity of Seoul as it is the local era."

There was also a negative view from the perspective of military security. A former Marine officer who served in the 2nd Marine Division in Gimpo said in a telephone interview with the Daily An, "The reason why the marines with an offensive strategy are deployed in Gimpo is because it is the border area with North Korea," adding, "It is a very burdensome matter for the military that the Capital Defense Command, which has a defense and civil operation-oriented strategy, will take control of the border area."

Date: 2023-11-07

Reporter: 서화목