Mokpo Mayor Park Hong-ryul Hustles to Secure Next Year's National Budget

Seeking Bipartisan Cooperation from Ruling and Opposition Party Leaders and Members of the National Assembly

Meeting with National Assembly Members to Request Inclusion of Southwest Coast Premium Scenic Development as a Priority Project

Park Hong-ryul, the mayor of Mokpo City, is working tirelessly to secure national funding for the next year.

According to the city, on the 6th, Mayor Park held consecutive meetings with Kim Ki-hyun, party leader of the People Power Party, Kim Young-jin, chief political secretary of the Democratic Party leader, as well as Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Won-i, Lee Soo-jin, Heo Young, and Cho Soo-jin, senior member of the People Power Party, explaining the necessity of key projects and the need for government financial support, and requested national funding.

The main priority projects include the ‘Development of Premium Scenic Views of the Southwestern Coast’ (500 million KRW), establishment of an operational foundation for a seaweed industry specialized institution (600 million KRW), and expansion of the Namak public sewage treatment facility (an additional 2.5 billion KRW). Additionally, an increase in the budget for the Imseong District Natural Disaster Risk Improvement Project (an additional 12.84 billion KRW out of the total project cost of 42.7 billion KRW) was also proposed.

(On the left) Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo City, is meeting with Lee Su-jin, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party of Korea, explaining the necessity of priority projects and the need for government financial support. [Photo by Mokpo City]

The Development of Premium Scenic Views of the Southwestern Coast project is a tourism infrastructure expansion initiative with a total budget of 20 billion KRW (10 billion KRW national funding, 10 billion KRW local funding), aiming to develop the Samhakdo area as a representative tourist destination.

To this end, efforts are being made to include the project in the national plan ‘Comprehensive Development Plan for the Southern Coastal Area,’ which is currently under study by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. If reflected in the Ministry’s study, the city plans to receive design fees and promote it as a priority project.

The seaweed industry specialized institution operational foundation project has a total budget of 600 million KRW (national funding) and aims to enhance the competitiveness of the seaweed industry, the top export item in seafood products, by establishing a grading system for dried seaweed and building quality data for seaweed products.

The Namak public sewage treatment facility expansion project has a total budget of 30 billion KRW (10.6 billion KRW national funding, 6.9 billion KRW local funding, 12.5 billion KRW from responsible parties) and requests the minimum project cost to be reflected to increase sewage treatment capacity in the newly developed urban areas (Okam, Namak) where the population is increasing.

Mayor Park Hong-ryul stated, “For a hopeful leap forward and a greater Mokpo that attracts youth, we have strengthened cooperation with related ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and sought bipartisan cooperation from the heads of both ruling and opposition parties as well as members of the National Assembly,” adding, “We are doing our best to secure financial support targeting the central government and the National Assembly, which will serve as a lever for Mokpo’s development.”

Meanwhile, the city is making an all-out effort to secure more than 800 billion KRW in national funds, including ongoing projects and large-scale national projects.

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