Yeongdeok-gun 'National Fund Expedition Team' Visits National Assembly to Secure Final National Funding

County Governor Kim Gwang-yeol and Staff Strive to Secure National Funding for Regional Revitalization Next Year

Kim Gwang-yeol, the head of Yeongdeok County, and his staff met with key members of the National Assembly on the 5th to request cooperation in securing next year’s national budget necessary for securing future growth engines and promoting long-standing projects.

Yeongdeok-gun's 'National Budget Expedition Team' visiting the National Assembly to secure the final national funds.

First, in a meeting with Kim Hee-guk, the local district lawmaker, County Head Kim explained Yeongdeok County’s major projects for next year and the residents’ long-standing projects, and held consultations to reflect these in the national budget.

The requests Kim made to the National Assembly include ▲Establishment of a Deep-Sea Marine Bio Bank (27.2 billion KRW) ▲Creation of a Whale Sea Shelter (18 billion KRW) ▲Coastal maintenance project from Baekseok to Goraebul district (28 billion KRW) ▲Marine waste disposal project ▲Request for restoration of central government budget for operating expenses of local child care facilities.

Yeongdeok County expects the Deep-Sea Marine Bio Bank, as a national institution, to serve as a foothold that promotes the industrialization of deep-sea biological resources linked with the bio-infrastructure of the East Sea region, thereby developing the marine bioindustry and driving regional revitalization.

Regarding the marine waste disposal project, in the context of increasing marine waste inflow from adjacent inland areas due to intensified heavy rains and frequent typhoons caused by climate change, it is meaningful to improve environmental issues for future generations by easing related regulations on national funding and establishing a marine waste collection center.

In particular, Yeongdeok County emphasized that during the 2015 restoration of social welfare facility operating expenses to the central government budget, child care facilities were excluded, causing significant operational burdens on the Gyeongbuk Christian Childcare Center, the only child care facility in the northeastern Gyeongbuk region. With the facility aging, the county requested support to secure publicness and promote broad responsibility discussions.

Additionally, Baek Young-bok, Director of the Marine Fisheries Department of Yeongdeok County, visited the offices of Jeong Hee-yong of the Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Marine Fisheries Committee and Im Byung-heon of the Budget and Accounts Committee to ask for support so that local national projects can pass the final gate of the National Assembly.

This visit to the National Assembly by Yeongdeok County is interpreted as a self-help measure to secure the final national budget for next year amid reduced national tax revenue due to sluggish export performance caused by the external economic downturn and real estate market stagnation due to interest rate hikes, alongside the government’s announcement of sound fiscal management.

County Head Kim Gwang-yeol emphasized, “Under the government’s sound fiscal policy, competition among local governments to revitalize the regional economy and secure future growth engines will become fiercer. Especially, projects for disaster preparedness and safety, which involve the lives and property of residents, must be promoted promptly under any conditions, so I will devote all efforts with my staff to securing national funding.”

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