Gwangju City, Next Year's National Budget of 2.8666 Trillion Won Confirmed by the National Assembly

1,028 Billion Won More Than Government Proposal, 3,287 Billion Won (13%) Increase Compared to Previous Year... Record High

Joincheol Jo, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is conducting an online briefing on securing national funds for 2021 at the city hall briefing room on the morning of the 3rd. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 3rd that next year's national government-supported project budget was finalized at 2.8666 trillion won, an increase of 34 projects and 102.8 billion won from the government proposal of 2.7638 trillion won during the National Assembly review process.

This amount is 328.7 billion won (13%) higher than the previous year's national budget secured amount of 2.5379 trillion won, consisting of 87 new projects worth 163.5 billion won and 252 ongoing projects worth 2.7031 trillion won.

This is a remarkable achievement compared to the government's budget increase of 8.9% from the previous year, and just two years after entering the 2 trillion won national budget era, Gwangju is on the verge of entering the 3 trillion won national budget era.

The city analyzed that this achievement resulted from actively pursuing next year's national budget securing activities focused on key investment projects such as the Korean New Deal project and future new industry development, which are the government's fiscal investment directions in response to the post-COVID-19 era.

In particular, many long-standing and current issues were reflected during the National Assembly review stage, providing momentum for Gwangju's city administration operations, establishing a foundation to steadily promote regional pending projects and receive stable financial support.

For Gwangju's pending projects, 1 billion won was allocated for the regional job creation infrastructure project for the government's first designated win-win regional job project, laying the foundation for the early settlement of the Gwangju-type job project. Additionally, 2 billion won was allocated for the eco-friendly air industry development project, enabling timely promotion of the foundation for fostering an air new industry ecosystem.

Also, 2 billion won was allocated for the expansion of Gwangju Songjeong Station, a representative long-standing project, to alleviate citizen inconvenience caused by the surge in users after the opening of the Honam High-Speed Railway. Furthermore, 2 billion won was allocated for the installation of the Gwangju driver's license test center, reducing the inconvenience for citizens who had to travel to Naju.

Moreover, 300 million won was allocated for the establishment of the National Trauma Healing Center, creating a national-level healing institution for social recovery of victims of national violence.

Specifically, the government-designated win-win regional job infrastructure project requires a total of 7 billion won, with 1 billion won allocated as national funds for education expenses to train customized professionals.

The eco-friendly air industry development infrastructure project requires a total of 49 billion won, and with the growing importance of the air industry, 2 billion won was allocated for equipment construction to promote the creation of an air industry convergence complex.

The Songjeong Station expansion project requires a total of 50 billion won, and due to initial demand forecast errors and increased user inconvenience after the opening of the Honam High-Speed Railway, 2 billion won was allocated for station expansion design fees and others.

Other major newly added projects include 2 billion won for the establishment of the Gwangju driver's license center, 300 million won for the National Trauma Healing Center establishment, 2 billion won for the expansion of the Gwangju Hanam~Jangseong Samgye metropolitan road, 4 billion won for the creation of an Asian art talent training hub space, 1.1 billion won for the integrated database construction of the May 18 Democratic Movement records, totaling 22 projects and 32.64 billion won reflected during the National Assembly review process.

The Gwangju~Gangjin highway construction project has a total project cost of 1.5394 trillion won, with 179.6 billion won (including Korea Expressway Corporation's share) reflected in the government budget proposal, and 46.5 billion won increased to 226.1 billion won in the National Assembly, contributing to regional balanced development through the expansion of the north-south highway in the Honam area.

The Honam Expressway expansion project (Donggwangju~Gwangsan IC) has a total project cost of 403.1 billion won, with 700 million won reflected in the government budget proposal and an increase of 1 billion won in the National Assembly, helping to alleviate citizen complaints caused by frequent congestion in the Donggwangju~Gwangsan IC section.

Other increased projects include 2 billion won for unmanned autonomous driving-based untact service practical technology development and demonstration, 500 million won for road construction between Sangmu District and the Advanced Industrial Complex, totaling 12 projects and 70.2 billion won reflected.

For regional pending projects, regional economic revitalization, and R&D innovation growth acceleration projects, the following were reflected: ▲ AI-centered industrial convergence complex creation (64.5 billion won) ▲ eco-friendly air industry development infrastructure (2 billion won) ▲ Gwangju Songjeong Station expansion (2 billion won) ▲ establishment of Gwangju driver's license center (2 billion won) ▲ support for industrialization of optical materials for camera lenses (1.9 billion won) ▲ establishment of hub-type hydrogen production base (2.9 billion won) ▲ smart home appliance automotive industry infrastructure linkage advancement project (1.6 billion won) ▲ micro medical robot practical technology development (10.4 billion won) ▲ eco-friendly automobile parts cluster creation (14 billion won) ▲ labor-management co-growth support center construction (8.4 billion won) ▲ clinical data-based musculoskeletal human simulation (1 billion won) ▲ AI-based bio-healthcare convergence product development commercialization platform construction (2.45 billion won) ▲ unmanned autonomous driving-based untact service practical technology development and demonstration (5 billion won), totaling 96 projects and 415.6 billion won.

For cultural and tourism projects to create an Asian cultural hub city, the following were reflected: ▲ creation of Gwangju representative cultural village (3 billion won) ▲ investment in the 3rd fund for Asian cultural hub city development (10 billion won) ▲ establishment and operation of AI-utilized content creation lab (1.5 billion won) ▲ creation of Gwangju immersive content cube (2.3 billion won) ▲ creation of Asian art garden (5.1 billion won) ▲ creation of permanent performance hall in Sajik Park (4.6 billion won) ▲ development and operation of Asian Culture Center content (60 billion won) ▲ construction cost for Korea Swimming Promotion Center (510 million won) ▲ creation of Asian art talent training hub space (4 billion won) ▲ UNESCO media art platform facade content development (3 billion won) ▲ creation of Asian cultural plaza content (2 billion won), totaling 95 projects and 168.3 billion won.

For projects to expand warm welfare social safety nets and realize a clean environment, the following were reflected: ▲ investment in community services (300 million won) ▲ support for maternal and newborn health management (3.1 billion won) ▲ creation of clean air industry cluster (14.6 billion won) ▲ creation of metropolitan sanitary landfill phase 2-2 (5.3 billion won) ▲ installation of buffer retention facility in Hanam Industrial Complex (3.6 billion won) ▲ creation of water circulation leading city (10.8 billion won) ▲ maintenance of rural village sewage systems (1.7 billion won), totaling 51 projects and 1.6267 trillion won.

For social infrastructure expansion projects linked to jobs and SOC facilities, the following were reflected: ▲ road construction between Sangmu District and Advanced Industrial Complex (4.5 billion won) ▲ expansion of Gwangju Hanam~Jangseong Samgye metropolitan road (2 billion won) ▲ Honam Expressway expansion project (Donggwangju~Gwangsan IC) (1.7 billion won) ▲ construction of Energy Valley access road (5.6 billion won) ▲ construction of northern ring road (5 billion won) ▲ construction of Gwangju~Gangjin highway (226.1 billion won) ▲ construction of Gwangju ring highway section 2 (1.9 billion won) ▲ urban regeneration projects (34.1 billion won) ▲ government-designated win-win regional job infrastructure project (1 billion won) ▲ creation of Gwangju green startup town (500 million won), totaling 60 projects and 622.7 billion won.

Additionally, for projects to establish democratic human rights and safety systems, the following were reflected: ▲ improvement of exhibition facilities at May 18 Freedom Park and Freedom Hall (1.5 billion won) ▲ survey project on May 18 victims (500 million won) ▲ construction of Solomon Law Park (3.7 billion won) ▲ linear improvement of Daenam-daero (7.3 billion won) ▲ improvement of frequent traffic accident sites (700 million won) ▲ establishment of National Trauma Healing Center (300 million won) ▲ integrated database construction for May 18 Democratic Movement records (1.1 billion won) ▲ establishment of May 18 Street Museum system (1 billion won), totaling 51 projects and 33 billion won.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “Next year's national budget securing includes substantial and solid projects such as AI-centered industrial convergence complex creation, government-designated win-win regional job infrastructure, eco-friendly air industry development infrastructure, and Songjeong Station expansion reflected in the government budget, which is expected to boost regional economic revitalization and the promotion of regional pending projects.” He added, “I thank government officials, local National Assembly members, and politicians who have supported budget securing efforts, and I encourage the efforts of our city officials.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.