Jeonnam Province Secures 8.2 Trillion Won in National Budget for Next Year

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 30th that the 2023 government budget proposal, announced after the Cabinet meeting, includes a large number of regional issues such as next-generation energy industries and advanced strategic industries, securing a budget exceeding 8 trillion won for the second consecutive year.

The province immediately switched to a National Assembly response system.

The secured 2023 budget is 8.203 trillion won, which is a 9.2% (689.9 billion won) increase compared to the 7.5131 trillion won reflected in the 2022 government budget proposal last September, but 3.2% less than the final budget (8.3914 trillion won) passed by the National Assembly last year.

Considering the difficult conditions where the government's total expenditure growth rate was only 5.2% due to the central government's fiscal austerity policy, this is interpreted as a very meaningful achievement.

In particular, as the national social overhead capital (SOC) budget such as roads and railways was cut by nearly 3 trillion won, the Jeonnam budget inevitably decreased compared to the previous year, but excluding the SOC budget, it actually increased by 8.9% (65.1 billion won) compared to the previous year.

This is the result of reflecting many core pending projects included in the current government's national agenda, which Jeonnam Province continuously requested, and the necessary budget to ensure that major projects promoted since the previous government proceed without disruption, thus providing an opportunity for Jeonnam Province to take a step forward.

It is analyzed that the three-pronged approach of meticulous logic development, systematic persuasion through visits to central government ministries, and close communication with local lawmakers, led by Governor Kim Young-rok and all Jeonnam employees, was effective in securing the national budget.

Since early this year, Jeonnam Province has continuously held new project discovery briefings, monthly national treasury securing status meetings, explanations to central government ministries by executives at the director level or higher, and budget meetings with ruling and opposition lawmakers to focus administrative capabilities on reflecting Jeonnam's pending projects.

The major secured budgets for 2023 by sector include next-generation energy industries, where Jeonnam actively responded to national policy projects such as the new government's energy policy direction, reflecting numerous energy-related projects supporting wind power and green hydrogen, which Jeonnam is focusing on nurturing, thus creating new markets and providing an opportunity for Jeonnam to develop as a mecca of the energy industry.

Key projects include ▲3.5 billion won for establishing a next-generation grid semiconductor center to secure semiconductor technology used in high-power generation such as renewable energy ▲200 million won for a green hydrogen energy island research project to link Jeonnam's abundant offshore wind power and green hydrogen production bases with islands ▲2.4 billion won for establishing an industrialization support center for supercritical (S) carbon dioxide power generation in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, where energy-intensive companies are concentrated, to improve energy efficiency.

In advanced strategic industries, many projects were reflected to secure future core growth engines and create high-quality jobs by actively utilizing Jeonnam's advanced industrial infrastructure such as vaccines, bio, and electric vehicles in line with the global eco-friendly industry trend. Major projects include ▲2.1 billion won for a vaccine-specialized process workforce training project at the Microbial Demonstration Support Center in preparation for the surge in demand for vaccine specialists from biopharmaceutical companies ▲5.7 billion won for the Jeonnam modified electric vehicle regulatory free zone support project for production and driving demonstration of modified electric vehicles ▲500 million won for the K-Natural Material Full Cycle Standardization Support Hub to support product standardization technology for natural product companies.

Regarding tourism infrastructure development utilizing cultural resources, budgets were reflected to raise Jeonnam's tourism competitiveness through cultural and tourism development projects aimed at making Jeonnam a place where anyone wants to travel.

In particular, although Jeonnam possesses relics comparable to the Gaya, Baekje, and Silla cultural zones, the excavation speed has been relatively slow, so it is expected that the long-awaited full-scale excavation and maintenance of the Mahan cultural zone will be carried out.

Major projects include ▲1 billion won for creating attractive island tourism content and improving accessibility to develop desirable islands ▲1.7 billion won for building the National Mahan History and Culture Center and comprehensive maintenance of historical and cultural zones for the maintenance and experience space of Mahan cultural zone relics and artifacts ▲700 million won for creating an ecological garden city in the southwestern coastal area to revitalize southwestern coastal ecotourism ▲3.5 billion won for small island revitalization to improve residential conditions for small island residents, which had been excluded from development target islands and supported by the province.

For expanding the foundation of sustainable agricultural competitiveness, Jeonnam secured project funds to establish a foundation for proactively responding to climate change and to foster the agricultural industry as a high value-added industry, leading future advanced agriculture.

Major projects include ▲2.1 billion won for design costs of the Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center, which recently passed the preliminary feasibility study ▲200 million won for the Agricultural Industry Big Data Center for digital agriculture transformation, including integrated management of data across all agricultural fields from production to distribution ▲5 billion won for designating a specialized promotion zone for the seaweed industry, which accounts for 72% of the national production volume, to strengthen competitiveness.

Regarding social overhead capital necessary for smooth construction of regional wide-area transportation networks, some budgets were reduced compared to 2022, but necessary budgets were reflected to ensure no disruption in project execution considering completion schedules.

Balanced development projects, which were cut due to poor execution during this year's government supplementary budget, secured timely budgets needed for next year. Major projects include ▲108.4 billion won for electrification of the Gyeongjeon Line (Gwangju Songjeong~Suncheon) ▲152.3 billion won for the second phase of the Honam High-Speed Railway ▲84 billion won for the first phase of the Gwangju~Wando Expressway ▲35.4 billion won for the construction of the Namhae Coast (Boseong~Imseong-ri) railway ▲70.8 billion won for National Road No. 77 Sinan Amhae~Haenam Hwawon ▲64 billion won for the Yeosu Hwatae~Baekya connecting road.

Jeonnam Province plans to continue proposing projects that will drive Jeonnam's development during the National Assembly budget review process and strive to have at least an additional 500 billion won reflected in the final budget confirmed by the National Assembly.

Major additional proposed budgets by sector include, for tourism hub development utilizing cultural resources, ▲15.4 billion won for the Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Leading Project, including concretized projects such as Haenam Lakeside Culture and Arts and Namdo Dalbam, which can be initiated first ▲2 billion won for establishing the Mudflat World Natural Heritage Conservation Headquarters, as Jeonnam holds the largest area of mudflats nationwide with symbolic significance as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.

For projects currently undergoing preliminary feasibility studies by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with results expected this year, projects include ▲600 million won for the National Subtropical Arboretum, the first of its kind domestically, which is expected to attract tourists and have a significant regional economic ripple effect ▲23.1 billion won for establishing the National Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Research Institute to build a bio-medical industry cluster in connection with Gwangju's research and development special zone.

For projects that can create synergy effects linked to ongoing projects, projects include ▲500 million won for creating a Space Launch Vehicle Science Complex to develop Goheung into a genuine space industry hub city in connection with the space launch vehicle industry cluster ▲500 million won for building a smart transportation management platform for shipbuilding and marine structures to strengthen the competitiveness of tenant companies through logistics efficiency in the Daebul Industrial Complex ▲3 billion won for establishing an electric vehicle full-cycle carbon-neutral environmental management system to activate the resource circulation industry such as battery recycling through information collection from operation to disposal of electric vehicle batteries.

Despite the central government's fiscal austerity policy leading to budget cuts compared to the previous year for social overhead capital budgets such as the second phase of the Honam High-Speed Railway and the Gwangju~Wando Expressway project, Jeonnam Province plans to expand these budgets to ensure the prompt completion of major infrastructure.

Park Chang-hwan, Jeonnam Province Deputy Governor for Political Affairs, said, “Next year's Jeonnam budget secured more than 8 trillion won for the second consecutive year, achieving the establishment of the 8 trillion won national treasury era quantitatively, and qualitatively, many meaningful projects such as excavation of Mahan cultural zone relics, next-generation grid semiconductors, and green hydrogen energy islands were reflected. We plan to make every effort to reorganize projects not reflected in the government proposal through close consultation with ruling and opposition lawmakers during the National Assembly budget review stage to ensure that as much budget as possible is reflected until the final approval by the National Assembly.”

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