'송도 분구 추진' 시작은 했는데... 과제로 떠오른 연수구 재정 양극화

【Anchor】 In this local election, both the ruling and opposition parties put forward the division of Songdo as a campaign pledge. Yeonsu District Mayor Lee Jae-ho, who won the election, immediately set out to push for the division. Reporter Lee Sang-ho examined what challenges need to be resolved before the division takes place. 【Reporter】 The division of Songdo was controversial last year regarding feasibility issues. In this local election, however, the push has gained momentum as both ruling and opposition party candidates for Incheon Mayor and Yeonsu District Mayor put forward the division of Songdo as a campaign pledge. Yeonsu District Mayor Lee Jae-ho urged Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae to announce an administrative system reorganization plan for the division of Songdo immediately upon the start of his term. He judged that the time has come to divide the district, as the populations of Songdo's original downtown and new city are each around 200,000. [Lee Jae-ho / Head of Yeonsu-gu (Yesterday): Even if we split it, Yeonsu-gu is an old downtown area with nearly 200,000 residents, and the population is around 190,000. Therefore, it does not belong to any single district; Yeonsu-gu is Yeonsu-gu.] The problem is the concern that Yeonsu-gu, having been excluded from Songdo New City, will inevitably face financial difficulties. If Songdo New City, which accounts for around 60% of the district's own revenue, disappears, there is a high probability that Yeonsu-gu's financial self-reliance rate will drop to the low-to-mid 10% range. While there is an expectation that revenue will increase through redevelopment and reconstruction projects upon selection as a pilot district, obstacles such as low profitability remain. Ultimately, there are calls for preemptive measures to be prioritized, such as strengthening adjustment grants above the average to alleviate financial imbalances between counties and districts. [Jeong Chang-hoon / Professor, Department of Public Administration, Inha University: Incheon also needs to strengthen its fiscal balance fund or adjustment grants in the future, but if the district is divided immediately without even having those mechanisms in place, it will be the worst-case scenario.] A plan to introduce the joint property tax system currently implemented in Seoul to Incheon is also being discussed, but it appears there will be difficulties in persuading the residents of the new city. This is Lee Sang-ho from OBS News. #Incheon #SongdoDivision #YeonsuDistrict #LocalElection #LeeJaeho ▶ Subscribe to OBS News Channel https://youtube.com/@obs3660?sub_conf... ▶ Read more OBS News articles PC : http://www.obsnews.co.kr Mobile : http://m.obs.co.kr ▶ Report to OBS News Email : [email protected] Phone : 032-670-5555