Assemblyman So Byeong-cheol Takes Initiative to Secure Budget for Animation Cluster Development

Met with Vice Minister Jeon Byeong-geuk to Secure Cooperation for Budget Approval

Total Project Cost 38.6 Billion Won, Including 19.3 Billion Won in National Funds

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker So Byeong-cheol met with Jeon Byeong-geuk, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on the 5th to begin full-scale efforts to pass the government budget for next year’s Suncheon Animation Cluster project, securing 19.3 billion KRW in national funding (total project cost 38.6 billion KRW, national funding 19.3 billion KRW, provincial funding 9.65 billion KRW, city funding 9.65 billion KRW) through the National Assembly.

This followed So’s urging to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for “specific follow-up support after the designation of Suncheon’s animation cluster” during the review of the 「Animation Industry Act」 amendment at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 13th of last month.

Assemblyman So Byeong-cheol is discussing the budget plan related to the animation cluster with Jeon Byeong-geuk, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. [Photo by Assemblyman So Byeong-cheol's Office]

During the meeting, So emphasized, “We must ensure the full 19.3 billion KRW in national funding reflected in the 2024 government budget passes through the National Assembly,” and requested active cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Vice Minister Jeon also promised, “I will do my best to cooperate actively with Representative So to ensure the budget passes.”

So further stressed, “The content industry requires workforce expansion, and Suncheon is in a favorable position with three universities all having related departments, so continuous and full government support is necessary.”

Vice Minister Jeon responded, “The animation sector is a promising field within the content industry,” adding, “We will consider continuous support measures such as workforce development by utilizing the excellent resources produced by Suncheon’s universities.”

On the 7th, So also held a meeting with Democratic Party provincial and city council members at the request of executives from the Suncheon old downtown merchants’ association, expressing strong sympathy for the merchants’ desire that the animation cluster be located in the old downtown area.

He stated that the purpose of attracting the animation cluster was to make Suncheon a young and vibrant city and contribute to the revitalization of the old downtown, and introduced a vision for creating a university street filled with young people in the old downtown area going forward.

To this end, he promised to ensure the passage of the 19.3 billion KRW national budget in the National Assembly next year.

In 2022, So successfully attracted the country’s only animation cluster to Suncheon.

He emphasized the presence of animation-related departments at three universities?Suncheon National University, Jeil University, and Cheongam University?and the need to create youth jobs, overcoming fierce competition with cities like Bucheon and Chuncheon, which already had established animation bases.

So’s successful attraction of the animation cluster has been evaluated as laying the foundation for Suncheon to become a cultural content industry hub and a mecca of the creative industry, as well as a stepping stone for nurturing creative talent, creating youth jobs, and contributing to balanced regional development.

In particular, the “Animation Cluster Development” is being promoted as a specialized field of the Suncheon National University Glocal University30 project, which is expected to greatly aid its final selection.

So said, “The animation cluster will be a decisive turning point for revitalizing the declining old downtown and will serve as a catalyst for the revival of the old downtown commercial district,” adding, “I will continue to do my best in cooperation with Jeollanam-do Province and Suncheon City to ensure the animation industry can flourish in Suncheon.”

Suncheon = Lee Yeon-gyeong, Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters hss79@asiae.co.kr

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