Mokpo Mayor Park Hong-ryul Makes All-Out Effort to Secure Next Year's National Budget... Responding to National Assembly Deliberations

Visited the National Assembly to Meet with the Budget and Accounts Committee Members... Proposed Inclusion of Budget for Current Projects

Park Hong-ryul, the mayor of Mokpo City, is making every effort to secure national funding for the next year.

According to the city on the 20th, Mayor Park visited the National Assembly on the 17th and held successive meetings with Seo Sam-seok, the Budget and Accounts Committee chairman, Democratic Party members Ki Dong-min (Seongbuk-gu Eul, Seoul) and Lee Won-taek (Gimje-si Buan-gun, Jeonbuk), as well as People Power Party Budget and Accounts Committee member Song Eon-seok (Gimcheon-si, Gyeongbuk), requesting support for key priority projects that need increased funding during the National Assembly’s review stage.

The key projects for which national funding was requested include △ Development of Premium Scenic Views of the Southwestern Coast (500 million KRW) △ Establishment of an Operational Base for the Seaweed Industry Specialized Institution (600 million KRW) △ Expansion of Namak Public Sewage Treatment Facility (2.5 billion KRW) △ Improvement of Natural Disaster Risk Zones in Imseong District (12.84 billion KRW).

(Left) Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo City, is meeting with Seo Sam-seok, Chairman of the Budget and Accounts Committee, to request national funding support for current projects. [Photo by Mokpo City]

Along with this, Mayor Park also proposed that the entire 806 billion KRW reflected in the government’s budget plan for next year be fully incorporated by the National Assembly without any cuts.

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. This project requires design fees to be reflected for the future revitalization of the Samhakdo area.

The Operational Base for the Seaweed Industry Specialized Institution project has a total budget of 600 million KRW (national funding) and aims to enhance the competitiveness of the seaweed industry, which is the top seafood export item, by establishing a grading system for dried seaweed and building quality data for seaweed products.

The Expansion of Namak Public Sewage Treatment Facility 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 increase sewage treatment capacity in the Imseong area, where population growth is expected.

Additionally, the Natural Disaster Risk Improvement Project in Imseong District requires increased funding for drainage facility construction to address frequent flooding and small stream overflows in the Seokhyeon-dong area, which have caused disaster risks for residents.

Mayor Park Hong-ryul stated, “We have made great efforts to ensure that key projects are reflected in the government’s budget plan,” adding, “We will do our utmost to persuasively explain the necessity and importance of the projects so that major pending projects can be maximally reflected during the National Assembly’s review.”

Meanwhile, the government budget plan for next year submitted to the National Assembly will be finalized in early December after review by the Budget and Accounts Subcommittee, the Budget and Accounts Special Committee, and approval by the plenary session.

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