Gang Jin-won, Gangjin County Governor, Visits National Assembly... Full Effort to Secure Next Year's National Budget

Published 09 Aug.2023 09:55(KST)

Meeting with Seo Samsuk, Budget Committee Chair, Requesting Support for Current Projects

Kang Jin-won, the governor of Gangjin-gun, is continuing a swift pace of visits to government offices and the National Assembly to secure national and provincial funding for next year, aiming to promote regional development and resolve pending projects.

According to Gangjin-gun on the 9th, Governor Kang visited the National Assembly on the 8th, meeting consecutively with Seo Sam-seok, chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, and Ahn Kyu-baek, a member of the National Defense Committee, to explain local pending projects and actively request support.

(On the left) Gang Jin-won, the county governor, is meeting with Seo Sam-seok, the budget and accounts committee chairman, to explain local pending projects. [Photo by Gangjin County]

This visit is interpreted as a desperate effort to reflect local pending projects as much as possible in next year’s budget, amid recent tax revenue declines and the government’s strengthened fiscal austerity policy.

At the meeting, Governor Kang requested national funding for three projects: △ Low-carbon automobile parts manufacturing (establishing a pilot production base for future car parts) project (10.3 billion KRW) △ Compensation service fee for shellfish decline damage in Gangjin Bay (100 million KRW) △ Construction of an access road to the Gangjin Scientific Reserve Forces Training Center (8539th Unit, 3rd Battalion) project (1.5 billion KRW).

The low-carbon automobile parts manufacturing establishment project mainly aims to build an automobile parts manufacturing ecosystem that reduces carbon emissions compared to conventional manufacturing methods and improves vehicle fuel efficiency and driving range by lightening parts.

Last November, the county negotiated with six related companies about relocating to Seongjeon Industrial Complex, and once the production ecosystem is fully established, it is estimated to generate annual sales exceeding 70 billion KRW and create direct and indirect employment for about 200 people in local processing, painting, and post-processing of the parts.

In particular, the automobile parts and wheel industry targeted by the county is not only used in existing luxury and high-performance sports cars but is also expected to grow to nearly 4.5 trillion KRW by 2025, a 32.5% increase compared to 2017, as the adoption of electric vehicles continues to rise.

The access road construction project for the Gangjin Scientific Reserve Forces Training Center (8539th Unit, 3rd Battalion) has become urgent due to the establishment of reserve forces training units from six counties (Gangjin, Jangheung, Yeongam, Haenam, Jindo, Wando) at the 8539th Unit, 3rd Battalion, with an expected annual visitation of 25,000 trainees starting in the second half of 2024.

Governor Kang Jin-won stated, “Although securing national funding is more difficult than ever due to the government’s sound fiscal policy and declining tax revenues, I will continue to visit the National Assembly and do my best to ensure that essential pending projects for our county are reflected.”