Ulsan City Secures Record High National Budget of 3.323 Trillion Won for Next Year

National Assembly Increases 15 Items by 26.9 Billion Won, Reflecting 71.4% of Projects Subject to Increase, Achieving Maximum Results

Ulsan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Ulsan City has secured the largest-ever national budget of 3.323 trillion KRW for next year.

On the 26th, Ulsan City announced that next year's budget is 20.6 billion KRW larger than the 3.3024 trillion KRW in 2022, and this amount does not include the 2023 general local allocation tax to be announced this week. When combined with the general local allocation tax, it is expected that Ulsan City will surpass 4 trillion KRW in national budget for the first time.

Additionally, among the 21 projects for which Ulsan City pushed for increased funding in the National Assembly, 15 projects were reflected, accounting for 71.4% by number of projects, marking the highest achievement ever.

The projects additionally reflected during the National Assembly's budget increase process include six new projects such as the Shipbuilding and Marine Steel Structure Manufacturing Industry Digital Transformation (IDX) project, the establishment of a Hydrogen Electric Vehicle Safety Certification Center, and the modernization of the public agricultural and marine products wholesale market facilities, as well as nine ongoing projects including the establishment of the Yeongnam Region Global Skilled Technology Promotion Institute.

Among these, the Shipbuilding and Marine Steel Structure Manufacturing Industry Digital Transformation project, newly reflected at this National Assembly budget increase stage, is a project for which national funding has been sought since 2021. Securing 1.2 billion KRW for system construction costs is expected to contribute to resolving the supply-demand imbalance of production personnel in the shipbuilding industry, a key local industry, and to strengthening the competitiveness of manufacturing companies.

With the acquisition of 3 billion KRW for equipment construction costs for the Hydrogen Electric Vehicle Safety Certification Center project, focus can be placed on safety certification for commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks, supporting Ulsan's leap as a hydrogen vehicle production hub and a mecca of the hydrogen industry.

The modernization project of the public agricultural and marine products wholesale market facilities faced difficulties due to disagreements between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety regarding local finance investment reviews, but after conditional approval of the investment review, 300 million KRW was secured for basic and detailed design service fees during the National Assembly budget increase process, achieving a significant outcome.

The establishment of the Yeongnam Region Global Skilled Technology Promotion Institute is a project for which the Ministry of Employment and Labor established a construction plan this year. Although it was not included in the government proposal, securing 1.9 billion KRW for design fees has given momentum to project promotion.

Looking at the major projects with secured budgets for next year by sector, in job creation and industry fields, there are ▲Establishment of Yeongnam Region Global Skilled Technology Promotion Institute (1.9 billion KRW) ▲Construction of 3D Printing Convergence Technology Center (6.4 billion KRW) ▲Establishment of Hydrogen Electric Vehicle Safety Certification Center (3 billion KRW) ▲Shipbuilding and Marine Steel Structure Manufacturing Industry Digital Transformation (IDX) project (1.2 billion KRW), among others.

In the road and social overhead capital (SOC) sector, budgets were secured for ▲Construction of Nongsu~Oedong National Road (20 billion KRW) ▲Expansion project of the entrance road to Mipo National Industrial Complex (Jujeon~Eomuldong) (9.1 billion KRW) ▲Opening of arterial road in R&D district (4.3 billion KRW) ▲Modernization of public agricultural and marine products wholesale market facilities (300 million KRW), etc.

In the culture, sports, and tourism sector, there are ▲Repair and maintenance of Ulsan Gyeongsangjwa-do Byeongyeongseong (1.2 billion KRW) ▲Repair and maintenance of Ulsan Eonyang Eupseong (900 million KRW), among others.

In the safety and environment sector, there are ▲Maintenance project for Sinjeong 3 natural disaster risk improvement district (1.6 billion KRW) ▲Construction of Ulsan Complex Ecotourism Center (500 million KRW), etc.

Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom of Ulsan City established a cooperative system with local National Assembly members immediately after the launch of the 8th local government to address local issues and secure national funds, and devoted great effort to securing the budget through multiple meetings with key figures in the National Assembly and central government ministries.

Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Ahn Hyo-dae is also known to have played a pivotal role in securing national funds by utilizing his experience as a member of the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee and his extensive network in the National Assembly.

Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom said, “Since the launch of the 8th local government, we have focused administrative capabilities on securing national funds for key projects, and thanks to the bipartisan cooperation of local National Assembly members, we were able to achieve the highest level of results ever. Based on the largest national budget ever, we will accelerate the promotion of ‘The Great New Ulsan’ in 2023, the second year of the 8th local government.”

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