Mokpo Mayor Kim Jongsik Strives to Secure Next Year's National Budget... 'Budget Doubled in Three Years'

City Secures Outstanding Budgets of 388.5 Billion in 2018 and 891.6 Billion in 2021

Kim Jong-sik, Mayor of Mokpo, visiting the Ministry of Economy and Finance to secure national funding (left: Ando Geol, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance; right: Kim Jong-sik, Mayor of Mokpo). Photo by Mokpo City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Seunghyun] Mokpo City, Jeollanam-do, led by Mayor Kim Jong-sik, is working tirelessly to secure national funding for next year.

Since the 7th local government, the city secured central government budgets of 546.1 billion KRW (97 projects) in 2019, 754.5 billion KRW (144 projects) in 2020, and 891.6 billion KRW (113 projects) in 2021.

Compared to the 388.5 billion KRW secured in 2018, this represents more than double the achievement.

On the 27th, Mayor Kim met with Ando-geol, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, to explain the necessity of key projects and the need for government financial support, requesting national funding.

The proposed projects are core to Mokpo’s three strategic industries responsible for its future growth: renewable energy, seafood products, and tourism.

Major projects include the establishment of a seafood product export complex (30 billion KRW), the tourism hub city development project (6.5 billion KRW), and the construction of the Mokpo Christian Modern History Museum (200 million KRW). Additionally, they requested the selection of the preliminary feasibility study target for the offshore wind power support pier and hinterland complex project.

The seafood product export complex project involves a total budget of 108.9 billion KRW (71.1 billion KRW national, 15.3 billion KRW provincial, 22.5 billion KRW city funds) to concentrate an international seafood trading center, research and development (R&D) facilities, rental processing plants, and cold storage/logistics warehouses in the Daeyang Industrial Complex. The city is pushing forward with the project aiming to start construction in the first half of 2022 and complete it in the second half of 2023.

The tourism hub city development project aims to transform Mokpo into a sustainable global tourism city by 2024 with a total investment of 100 billion KRW. To this end, the city is establishing smart tourism information systems and smart docent guidance systems.

The Mokpo Christian Modern History Museum project is a new initiative recognizing Mokpo as the first area in Gwangju and Jeonnam where missionaries spread Christianity, aiming to utilize various Christian historical relics in Mokpo as tourism resources.

Mayor Kim Jong-sik stated, “The projects for fostering the three strategic industries are being promoted in conjunction with government projects worth over 100 billion KRW, and we are strengthening cooperation with related ministries for smooth progress. We will definitely secure government financial support, which will be the lever for Mokpo’s development.”

Meanwhile, the city is making all-out efforts to secure more than 1 trillion KRW in national funds, including ongoing projects and large-scale national projects.

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