Yun Byeong-tae, Mayor of Naju, Visits Ministry of Economy and Finance... Requests Inclusion of Current Projects and Budget

Published 28 Jul.2023 13:14(KST)

Yoon Byung-tae, former mayor of Naju, Jeollanam-do, visited the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, his former department, to request national funding for key local development projects.

According to the city on the 28th, the day before, Mayor Yoon met consecutively with Park Geum-cheol, Social Budget Review Officer, Kang Woo-jin, Head of Climate Environment Budget Division, Park Jeong-min, Head of Agriculture, Forestry and Maritime Budget Division, and Kim Jun-cheol, Head of Research and Development Budget Division at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance in the Government Sejong Complex.

Naju Mayor Yoon Byung-tae is meeting with Kang Woo-jin, Director of the Climate and Environment Budget Division at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to request national funding support for next year's priority projects.
[Photo by Naju City]

Mayor Yoon explained the necessity of various pending projects in fields such as future advanced industries, tourism, food tech, disaster prevention, corporate attraction, and hosting national large-scale research facilities, actively urging their inclusion in next year’s national budget.

The main proposed projects include the construction of the National Energy Specialized Science Museum (45 billion KRW), which will become a landmark for the city leading the new energy industry; support for the activation of the Energy Industry Convergence Complex (designated in November 2019) to foster specialized companies (20 billion KRW); and support for attracting companies related to public institutions in the Innovation City (3 billion KRW).

For permanent disaster prevention projects, national funding was requested for the Naju Yeongsan District Drainage Improvement (12.4 billion KRW), currently in basic design, and the Yeongsan River Naju District Integrated River Development Flood Control Project, selected last year in the Ministry of Environment’s public contest.

Additionally, Mayor Yoon expressed commitment to leading projects reflecting local characteristics, including Food Upcycling Industrialization Support (25 billion KRW) aimed at developing low-quality agricultural products and food processing by-products into high value-added industries; Creation of Korean-style Garden Paths in the Naju Eupseong Area (10 billion KRW), which will serve as a Korean-style garden model; and Demonstration of Domestic Timber Wooden Architecture Using Subtropical Tree Species (13 billion KRW), adapted to vegetation changes due to climate warming.

Mayor Yoon also requested continuous interest and support for attracting national large-scale research facilities, such as the ultra-high-power laser and artificial sun engineering research facilities, to improve the poor research and development conditions in the Honam region and promote regional balanced development.

The city plans to continuously explain and persuade the Ministry of Strategy and Finance about the necessity and justification of each pending project until the budget review is completed.

From September to October, the city will visit the National Assembly to tirelessly advocate for the inclusion of major national funding projects in the 2024 government budget proposal.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, “The projects proposed during this visit to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance are future growth engines for Naju and are very crucial issues for regional balanced development and the nation’s future industries. We will persistently knock on the doors of central government ministries and the National Assembly and persuade them with justification, logic, and detailed strategies to secure national funding.”