Lee Hak-su, Jeongeup Mayor, Visits National Assembly to Secure Next Year's National Budget 'All-Out Effort'

Published 13 Jun.2023 14:15(KST)

Lee Hak-su, former mayor of Jeongeup City, Jeollabuk-do, is making an all-out effort to secure the national budget for 2024 by meeting with key members of the National Assembly.

According to the city on the 13th, Mayor Lee visited the National Assembly the day before and held successive meetings with National Assembly member Yoon Jun-byeong, Park Seong-min of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee (Ulsan Jung-gu), Kim Yoon-duk of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Jeonju-si Gap), and local-origin member Lim Oh-kyung (Gwangmyeong-si Gap), explaining the necessity and justification of various regional projects.

Mayor Lee mobilized a broad personal network regardless of electoral districts to spread the justification for promoting major pending projects and actively requested support.

Lee Hak-su, mayor of Jeongeup City, is making an all-out effort, including meeting key members of the National Assembly, to secure the national budget for 2024.
[Photo by Jeongeup City]

In particular, he emphasized the need to reflect projects that citizens have continuously raised complaints about in the national budget, as well as the necessity to build a future new industry infrastructure linked with national research institutes in the region, which had been pointed out as insufficient, eliciting positive responses.

The major national budget projects for next year include the relocation and reconstruction of the Yeokjeon Police Substation, establishment of a Radiation Medicine Research Center for Companion Animals, construction of an advanced green bio-material facility system, and the building of a Jeongeup Intangible Cultural Heritage Transmission Education Center.

The Yeokjeon Police Substation, located in the plaza of Jeongeup Station, currently has more staff than its capacity due to increased security demands, making it necessary to improve the working environment. Also, since the substation is located at the exit of the underground passage of the station, it is vulnerable as a rapid dispatch and vehicle waiting area.

Moreover, the Yeokjeon Police Substation blocks the view of Jeongeup Station, which has been a landmark of Jeongeup for over 110 years, leading to continuous calls from local residents for the substation to be relocated and rebuilt.

Mayor Lee explained these justifications to the relevant lawmakers and requested 1.5 billion KRW for the relocation and reconstruction of the Yeokjeon Police Substation.

Upon hearing Mayor Lee’s requests, the related lawmakers said, “We fully sympathize with the justification for relocating the Yeokjeon Police Substation,” and added, “We will make efforts to resolve this long-standing issue of local residents through sufficient consultations with the National Police Agency.”

Additionally, the project to establish a Radiation Medicine Research Center for Companion Animals is aimed at building infrastructure in the companion animal medical industry by linking with national research institutes such as the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute’s Advanced Radiation Research Institute located in the Sinjeong-dong area.

If implemented as planned, it is expected to not only enhance collaboration synergy between local governments and national research institutes but also serve as a catalyst for securing Jeongeup’s future new industry base.

Mayor Lee Hak-su said, “All the proposed projects are core initiatives for improving the quality of life of Jeongeup citizens and regional development,” adding, “Although the conditions for securing the national budget are difficult due to the government’s sound fiscal policy, we will respond actively and proactively to ensure that the wishes of Jeongeup citizens are reflected as much as possible in the central government’s budget.”