Yoon Byung-tae, Mayor of Naju, Requests Support for Current Projects from Choi Sang-dae, 2nd Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance

Published 22 Sep.2022 15:25(KST)

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong] Yoon Byung-tae, mayor of Naju, Jeollanam-do, requested national funding support for key local development projects from Choi Sang-dae, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, who visited Naju on the 22nd.

According to the city, Vice Minister Choi visited Naju to seek solutions to local city issues such as economic slowdown and population decline, and to gather on-site opinions from local governments.

As the first schedule, Mayor Yoon and Vice Minister Choi visited Korea Energy Technology University (Kentech) and held discussions with President Yoon Ui-jun and university officials regarding the stable operation of Kentech, which opened in March.

At this meeting, President Yoon Ui-jun requested national funding support from Vice Minister Choi for the “Construction of a Negative Ion Source Test Facility for Heating Neutral Particle Beams in the Fusion Reactor Demonstration Plant,” a core facility in the artificial sun research field, with a total project cost of 46.7 billion KRW.

This facility is a project led by the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy with participation from Korea Energy Technology University to secure essential source technology for artificial sun demonstration research. Currently, 1.3 billion KRW in national funding for the test facility design has been proposed in next year’s government budget.

After visiting Kentech, Vice Minister Choi moved to Naju’s original downtown area, toured major cultural heritage sites in the Eupseong area, and listened to the progress and plans for the Naju Fortress restoration and maintenance project.

Mayor Yoon visited Naju Moksa Naea, Geumseonggwan, and Jeongsuru, and requested national funding support for the 63 billion KRW Naju Fortress restoration and maintenance project, aimed at turning the millennium-old historical and cultural heritage of Naju into a tourism resource accessible to all citizens.

He also emphasized the necessity of establishing a site for the artificial intelligence industry linked with Korea Electric Power Corporation, its affiliates, and Kentech within the Naju National Energy Industrial Complex, urging the swift approval of the preliminary feasibility study.

Additionally, he asked for the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s attention and cooperation on urgent issues such as national funding support for the 49 billion KRW Yeongsan Bridge performance improvement project, which received a D-grade safety diagnosis and has restrictions on large vehicle traffic.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “With the National Assembly’s review of the government budget bill scheduled for next month, the visit by the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance is a very meaningful and valuable opportunity. I carefully explained and requested the justification and necessity of national budget support for urgent issues.”

He added, “I will do my best until the end to secure national budget for key projects that will support the revitalization of historical and cultural tourism in the original downtown and the construction of a future advanced science city.”