Mokpo Mayor Park Hong-ryul Visits Ministry of Economy and Finance to Secure Next Year's National Budget

Aging Station Improvement Project and Explanation of Current Issues Including Kim Industrial Expert Agency

Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo, visited the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 10th to request national funding for next year.

On the day, Mayor Park met with Kim Dong-il, Economic Budget Review Officer at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and explained ongoing projects such as the Mokpo Old Station Renovation Project, Mokpo Station Railway Facility Relocation Project, Eoullim National Sports Center Construction, Honam Line High-Speed Rail Phase 2 Construction, and Imseong?Boseong Railway Construction Phase 1.

The Mokpo Old Station Renovation Project aims to transform Mokpo Station, which serves as a key station for the Honam and Namhae Lines but is outdated and cramped, making it insufficient to meet the increasing demand, into a smart railway station.

(On the right) Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo City, requested national funding support for current projects from Kim Dong-il, Economic Budget Review Officer at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
[Photo by Mokpo City]

The city has been consulting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Railroad Corporation, and the Mokpo Station Railway Facility Relocation Project is linked to the old station renovation, focusing on track relocation and system reinforcement.

The construction of the Eoullim National Sports Center is a project to significantly upgrade sports infrastructure in time for the National Para Games to be held this October. It involves building an indoor training center and a multipurpose gymnasium on the site of the Mokpo Sports Complex.

Through this, the city plans to strengthen sports facilities located within residential areas and create a catalyst for revitalizing the local economy by attracting competitions and training camps.

The establishment of a foundation for operating a seaweed industry specialized institution aims to enhance the competitiveness of the seaweed industry and promote exports by building systems for food safety assurance and international food safety certification.

The Fisheries Food Export Complex Project, which has been underway since 2016, aims to operate a dried seaweed exchange, frozen and logistics warehouses, and rental-type processing factories in the Daeyang Industrial Complex. The city requested an increase in next year’s budget to ensure the project proceeds smoothly.

The Honam High-Speed Rail Phase 2 Construction (Gwangju Songjeong?Naju?Muan International Airport?Mokpo, 77.8 km) is expected to improve accessibility to Muan International Airport and the southwestern coastal area, serving as a catalyst for tourism activation. The city requested an increase in national funding to ensure timely opening.

The Imseong?Boseong Railway Construction Phase 1 project connects the unconstructed section of the South Coast Railway (Mokpo?Busan). Once completed, travel time between Mokpo and Busan will be drastically reduced from 6 hours 36 minutes to 2 hours 24 minutes.

The city persuaded for a budget increase to ensure this project, expected to accelerate active exchanges between Yeongnam and Honam regions and boost tourism, proceeds without delay within the scheduled period.

Mayor Park Hong-ryul stated, “Although the government’s sound fiscal policy is firm, Mokpo’s ongoing projects are essential not only locally but also at the national level and have significant effects. We will continue to request national funding persuasively without losing focus until the National Assembly’s review period ends to ensure these projects proceed smoothly.”

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