Ulsan City Holds Solo Budget Policy Meeting with Ruling Party

Kim Gi-hyeon, People Power Party Leader, and Leadership Visit Ulsan on the 5th

Request for National Funding for Integrated Rivers, Hydrogen Construction, and Industrial Machinery Projects

Discussion on Development Restriction Zone Adjustment

Ulsan City will hold a budget policy consultation meeting solely with the ruling party.

On the 5th at 10 a.m., Ulsan City announced that it will hold a budget policy consultation meeting with the People Power Party in the large conference room on the 2nd floor of Ulsan City Hall to seek ways to secure the 2024 national budget projects and report on regional issues.

Ulsan City and the People Power Party have annually grouped Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam by region to hold budget policy consultation meetings at Busan City Hall or the National Assembly, but this time, for the first time, Ulsan City will hold the meeting independently.

Key ruling party officials and local lawmakers are expected to attend the meeting, including Kim Ki-hyun, party leader of the People Power Party (Ulsan Nam-gu Eul), Park Dae-chul, chairman of the Policy Committee (Jinju-si Gap, Gyeongnam), Kwon Myung-ho, chairman of the Ulsan City Party Committee (Ulsan Dong-gu), Song Eon-seok, secretary of the Budget and Accounts Committee (Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk), Park Sung-min, vice president of strategic planning (Ulsan Jung-gu), Lee Chae-ik (Ulsan Nam-gu Gap), and Seo Beom-su (Ulsan Ulju-gun).

From Ulsan City, Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom, City Council Chairman Kim Ki-hwan, Deputy Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, Director of Planning and Coordination Office, and heads of major project departments will attend.

At this meeting, Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom will explain the progress of key national projects positively reflected in central government departments and request cooperation to secure national funding at the Ministry of Economy and Finance stage. He will also seek solutions to major local issues that include the development of regional industries and the aspirations of residents.

As new national projects, a total of 10 items will be explained, including ▲Marine leisure tourism hub project ▲Road construction between Nongsu and Gangdong ▲Region-customized integrated river project ▲Urban garden infrastructure construction project ▲Ulsan underwater composite performance testbed construction project ▲Hydrogen construction and industrial machinery evaluation platform construction project ▲Commercialization of multi-omics-based personalized diagnosis and treatment technology for intractable cancers ▲Establishment of Yeongnam Global Skilled Technology Promotion Institute ▲Support project for training marine mobility specialists ▲Construction of an on-site safety management system for underground pipelines in Ulsan National Industrial Complex.

The necessity of the ‘Region-customized Integrated River Project,’ which provides residents with waterfront spaces by improving the river environment in urban areas such as the creation of the Taehwa River waterfront rest area, restoration of the Yeocheoncheon waterway, and dredging of the riverbed, with a total project cost of 325.7 billion KRW, will be highlighted.

Regarding climate change, the meeting will explain measures to ease trade technical barriers such as conformity assessment procedures deepening mainly in developed countries and increase exports of local companies by satisfying global carbon emission and noise regulations, especially the ‘Hydrogen Construction and Industrial Machinery Evaluation Platform Construction Project’ aimed at securing the European market.

To transform Ulsan from an industrial city into the country’s top garden city, cooperation will be requested for the ‘Urban Garden Infrastructure Construction Project,’ a 40 billion KRW project to build floating aerial gardens and waterfront garden plazas in urban areas.

Additionally, to resolve local issues, the progress of 11 projects will be reported, including ▲Rational adjustment of development restriction zones ▲Designation of candidate sites for Ulsan National Advanced Industrial Complex ▲Government support following expansion of radiation emergency planning zones ▲Designation of Ulsan as a specialized distributed energy area ▲Prompt promotion of safe water supply projects in the Ulsan area ▲Construction of Cheongnyang-Daun bypass road ▲Increase in medical school quotas at Ulsan National University ▲Increase in local resource facility tax rates for nuclear power plants ▲Promotion of preliminary feasibility study for CCS demonstration project utilizing Donghae gas field ▲Construction of Eonyang-Daun bypass road ▲Construction of Ulsan-Yangsan-Busan metropolitan railroad.

Mayor Kim plans to propose deleting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s prior consultation regulations and adding exceptions for environmental assessments for grade 1 to 2 lands to improve the development restriction zone system, which he has strongly advocated since taking office to secure insufficient industrial sites and improve living conditions.

He will also request efforts to establish enforcement ordinances and rules to ensure that the Special Act on Distributed Energy Activation serves as a legal basis for differentiated electricity rates by region, allowing citizens to benefit from discounts and exemptions.

Mayor Kim Doo-gyeom of Ulsan said, “Despite playing the role of Korea’s industrial capital and greatly contributing to national economic development through national tax payments, Ulsan has received less national support compared to other local governments,” adding, “We plan to actively request continuous interest in national projects and cooperation to resolve development restriction zone issues to ensure sufficient national budget allocation.”

After the event, the party leader, Mayor Kim, and other attendees will visit Sinjeong Market to encourage fisheries industry workers and merchants by having a meal of raw fish, aiming to alleviate citizens’ anxiety over the recent concerns about the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan and to promote the sharply decreased consumption of seafood.

Ulsan City Hall.

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