Assemblyman Sobyeongcheol's Full Effort to Secure National Funding for Major Suncheon City Projects Next Year

120 Written Inquiries for Budget Increase Submitted

Reviving 9 Billion Won at Risk of Cuts

Assemblyman So Byeong-cheol (Democratic Party, Suncheon (Gap), National Assembly Judiciary Committee Whip) is making every effort to secure the 2024 national budget for Suncheon City amid fierce scrutiny between the ruling and opposition parties over the government-submitted 657 trillion won budget proposal for next year.

Assemblyman So stated, “We are focusing on key core projects such as ▲ the Animation Cluster Development Project ▲ Dongcheon Estuary Wetland Restoration Project ▲ Garden Culture Industry Core Hub Development Project ▲ Tidal Flat Blue Carbon Enhancement Project, and we are doing our best to ensure that budget increases requested by Suncheon City proceed smoothly.”

[Photo by So Byeong-cheol]

Regarding the Animation Cluster Project, Assemblyman So managed to secure Suncheon as the location despite fierce competition with other cities like Bucheon during last year’s regular session of the National Assembly, a situation many thought impossible. He is currently working to pass a budget plan that allocates 19.3 billion won in national funds (19.3 billion won in local funds, total project cost 39 billion won) for next year.

The plan is to establish a solid foundation for youth job creation and the revival of the old downtown area.

For the Garden Culture Industry, Assemblyman So plans to persuade for budget increases by emphasizing that legal grounds were established through the 「Suncheonman Garden Expo Special Act」, which he proposed and was enacted in August 2021.

According to Assemblyman So’s office, from the individual standing committee review stage to the Budget and Accounts Special Committee deliberations, approximately 70 written inquiries have been submitted to increase Suncheon City’s budget.

Including inquiries supporting projects across Jeollanam-do Province, the total approaches about 120. To secure the budget, the office has been conducting one-on-one meetings with budget committee members and government officials, showing a full commitment to budget support, an office representative said.

Assemblyman So explained, “We are actively cooperating with Suncheon City and Jeollanam-do Province to secure as much budget as possible for our city at each stage of the budget review.”

He added, “In particular, regarding the ‘Dongcheon Estuary Wetland Restoration Project,’ the Budget Committee criticized that ‘frequent policy changes by Suncheon City and the consequent return of already spent national funds have undermined the credibility of the project,’ putting 9 billion won at risk of being completely cut. However, I was able to persuade the subcommittee members to revive the budget. I will continue to work hard to ensure that the necessary budgets for the region are well secured during the remaining review process.”

Assemblyman So said, “Due to the government’s so-called ‘sound fiscal’ policy, increasing the budget is not easy. Despite the difficult conditions, I will do my utmost to ensure that all necessary budgets for Suncheon City are added without omission and that already allocated funds are not cut.”

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

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