Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok's Continuous Efforts to Achieve 9 Trillion Won National Budget Era Next Year

Meeting with Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 14th following National Assembly leadership on the 9th

Request to increase funding for key projects as a stepping stone for Jeonnam's great leap forward

Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, is relentlessly pushing forward with the goal of entering the era of 9 trillion won in national funding in 2024.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 14th, Governor Kim held a meeting with the National Assembly leadership on the 9th and conducted a budget office meeting with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the same day.

At the meeting, Governor Kim expressed gratitude, saying, “Despite difficult fiscal conditions, thanks to the great interest in Jeonnam’s current issues, the government budget for next year includes 8.6 trillion won in national funding, a 4.9% increase from the previous year.”

He continued, “During the National Assembly’s budget review stage, I ask for strong support to ensure that key projects laying the foundation for Jeonnam’s great leap forward are reflected with increased funding without any setbacks.”

In response, Kim Dong-il, Director of the Budget Office at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, replied, “We fully understand the necessity of Jeonnam’s current projects and will do our best to review them thoroughly during the National Assembly’s budget review process to serve as a foundation for balanced regional development.”

On this day, Jeonnam Province proposed the “Gwangju-Yeongam Ultra-High-Speed Road Preliminary Planning Survey” (total project cost 2.006 trillion won, 1 billion won in 2024) as a key project for additional funding in the National Assembly.

Through this survey, they plan to secure project feasibility and ensure its inclusion in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s “3rd National Highway Construction Plan (2026?2030),” thereby laying the groundwork for budget allocation for the “Gwangju-Yeongam Ultra-High-Speed Road.”

They also requested the “Feasibility Study for the Creation of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Advanced Medical Complex” (total project cost undecided, 1 billion won in 2024), a Gwangju-Jeonnam mutual growth project. The plan is to secure differentiation from existing advanced medical complexes (Osong, Daegu-Gyeongbuk) and achieve additional designation in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s “5th Comprehensive Plan for Advanced Medical Complexes” scheduled for the second half of next year.

They also requested the “Establishment of the National Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Research Institute” (total project cost 1.1 billion won, 2 billion won in 2024), emphasizing that the feasibility re-evaluation passed in July and proposing the inclusion of land acquisition costs along with the confirmation of the total project cost for prompt establishment.

In addition, as the birthplace of local cuisine, Jeonnam requested budget allocation for the ▲“Establishment of the Local Food Promotion Center” (total project cost 15 billion won, 550 million won in 2024) for systematic discovery, preservation, industrialization, and globalization of local foods, and for ▲“Full government funding support for Korea Energy Engineering University” (an increase of 12.7 billion won compared to the 16.7 billion won government proposal for 2024), the world’s only energy-specialized university leading the carbon-neutral and energy transition era, to grow as a global talent hub in the energy sector.

Governor Kim plans to hold additional meetings with the ruling and opposition floor leaders on the 17th and with Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, on the 22nd, and will do his utmost to resolve regional issues and secure national funding until the National Assembly finalizes the budget.

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