Haenam-gun Scrambles to Secure Final Budget for Key Priority Projects

Published 04 Aug.2021 15:28(KST)

Active Support Requested for Kimchi Specialized Production Complex and Other Projects "Essential for Haenam"

(On the left) Myeong Hyun-gwan, Haenam County Governor, is meeting with Choi Sang-dae, Budget Director of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Photo by Haenam County.

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Myeong Hyun-gwan, the governor of Haenam County, Jeollanam-do, visited the Government Sejong Complex on the 4th and consecutively met with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, continuing his vigorous efforts to secure national budget for government projects.

During this visit, he proposed national budget support for projects including the construction of rural job accommodations, establishment of a seaweed research center, Osiano tourism complex resort hotel and sewage treatment facilities, sewage pipelines and village sewage systems, and renovation of cremators at the Namdo regional memorial park.

In particular, he proposed the 48 billion KRW-scale kimchi specialized production complex project and explained the necessity of attracting it to Haenam County.

Governor Myeong, through meetings with Choi Sang-dae, Director General of the Budget Office at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Lim Gi-geun, Economic Budget Review Officer, explained that if the kimchi specialized production complex is established in Haenam, it would lead the achievement of one of the three major policy goals of the five-year comprehensive plan for kimchi industry promotion established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in 2017, which is the strategy to expand the market share of domestically produced kimchi.

So far, Haenam County visited the World Kimchi Research Institute located in Gwangju Metropolitan City in March to discuss attracting a regional R&D center, and in early April, held a consultation meeting attended by related departments of Jeollanam-do, Jeonnam Creative Economy Innovation Center, major companies related to kimchi processing industry, and local stakeholders to gather opinions.

Additionally, they discussed specific measures to establish the foundation for the kimchi specialized production complex and have repeatedly visited the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the National Assembly since May to propose national budget support projects for revitalizing the Haenam kimchi industry.

As of August, the Korea Rural Economic Institute, a research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is conducting a basic plan study to establish the kimchi specialized production complex in Haenam County.

On the 2nd, Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeollanam-do, also visited the Ministry of Strategy and Finance to request national budget support. If the kimchi specialized production complex project promoted by Haenam County in collaboration with Jeollanam-do is reflected in the national budget, facilities such as raw material and food storage and logistics centers, processing plants, kimchi component functionality research centers (demonstration and analysis), and startup and export support infrastructure will be established, fostering Haenam’s unique cabbage industry as a strategic industry focused on both domestic consumption and export-led growth.

Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan stated, “We will continue to visit central government departments and the National Assembly to reiterate the necessity of national budget support and request financial assistance to prepare long-term growth engines,” adding, “We will make every effort to secure national funds to ensure these projects proceed without any setbacks.”

Meanwhile, Governor Myeong also visited the National Assembly in May ahead of the government department budget formulation period to explain Haenam County’s pending projects once again and actively request cooperation during the National Assembly’s budget review.