"No Party Distinction in the Face of Hometown Development" ... Gyeongnam Province-Local National Assembly Members Budget Policy Meeting Held

At the Kensington Hotel in Seoul, the Gyeongnam Regional National Assembly Members-Gyeongsangnam-do Budget Policy Council was held to secure the 2022 budget.
[Image source=Gyeongsangnam-do]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Gyeongsangnam-do requested cooperation from ruling and opposition party lawmakers in the Gyeongnam region for securing national funds and major issues ahead of the National Assembly budget review.

On the morning of the 15th, the Gyeongnam Regional Lawmakers-Gyeongsangnam-do Budget Policy Council was held at the Kensington Hotel in Seoul, attended by Lee Dal-gon, chairman of the Gyeongnam Provincial Party of the People Power Party (Changwon Jinhae District), Kim Jeong-ho, chairman of the Gyeongnam Provincial Party of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gimhae Eul), along with 15 lawmakers from both parties, Ha Byung-pil, acting governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, and the executive branch.

Kim Jeong-ho and Lee Dal-gon, chairmen of the ruling and opposition provincial parties, agreed on the need for a one-team strategy regardless of party lines during the National Assembly standing committee budget review process, leading to the gathering of Gyeongnam district lawmakers in one place for the first time in about three years.

Gyeongsangnam-do has secured a national budget of 6.9647 trillion won in next year's government budget proposal, and if an increase of about 165.6 billion won is reflected during the National Assembly review stage, it will open the era of a 7 trillion won national budget for the first time.

The council proceeded with opening remarks by the two provincial party chairmen and Acting Governor Ha, followed by an explanation of provincial government issues and budget project proposals by Jo Young-jin, director of the Planning and Coordination Office, and a free discussion session.

Chairman Kim said, "It is meaningful that the ruling and opposition parties have come together to secure the last national budget for Gyeongsangnam-do in the 7th local government term," adding, "As the time for the National Assembly to secure the budget has begun, I hope that we consider Gyeongnam as one constituency and share roles in each standing committee to discuss and cooperate closely."

Chairman Lee stated in his opening remarks, "In a situation where competition between regions is fierce, there can be no separate parties when thinking of our hometown Gyeongnam," and added, "With three standing committee chairpersons and many secretaries from both ruling and opposition parties, we will do our best to support good policies and accompanying budgets through united efforts."

Acting Governor Ha Byung-pil expressed gratitude, saying, "This is a place to confirm a strong will to cooperate together for the development of our hometown Gyeongnam," and "Thanks to the support of ruling and opposition lawmakers, there have been achievements such as the foundation of the government budget proposal and passing the preliminary feasibility study for the Namhae-Yeosu undersea tunnel."

He continued, "There are projects requiring additional funding such as the development and demonstration of ICT convergence manufacturing operating systems and the establishment of an innovation data center. I ask for continuous interest and support for regional issues such as the announcement of the basic plan for the Southern Inland High-Speed Railway within this year and the establishment of a high-speed train on the Gyeongjeon Line to Suseo."

Meanwhile, Gyeongsangnam-do plans to operate a 'budget situation' office at its Seoul headquarters until the government budget proposal passes the National Assembly plenary session, and establish a close cooperative system with both ruling and opposition parties to ensure necessary budget increases during the review stages.

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