Yeongilman Bridge Secures 135 Billion KRW ... Pohang City Anticipates Full-Scale Construction Start

Mayor Lee Gang-deok's Active Moves Including Visits to Central Government Ministries

Pohang City has secured a national investment budget of 1.4107 trillion KRW for next year, achieving the significant milestone of obtaining 135 billion KRW for the design and construction costs of the Yeongilman Bridge, a long-awaited local project, through the efforts of Mayor Lee Kang-deok and city employees.

Unlike previous years, the large-scale budget secured for next year has raised citizens' expectations that the Yeongilman Bridge will finally break ground in earnest.

According to Pohang City on the 22nd, Mayor Lee Kang-deok and city staff began actively engaging from early in the year by visiting relevant government ministries and the National Assembly to expedite the construction of the Yeongilman Bridge.

To this end, on January 30, Mayor Lee met with Choi Sang-dae, former 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, to request approval for changes in the total project cost and the inclusion of design fees. Notably, in April, when former Vice Minister Choi visited POSTECH to give a lecture on the government's regional balanced development strategy, he personally communicated with the mayor despite undergoing medical treatment, urging continuous attention to ensure the prompt realization of long-cherished local projects including the Yeongilman Bridge.

After returning, the mayor immediately embarked on an active campaign to secure national funding. On July 28, he met with Kim Wan-seop, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, at the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Seoul, and on August 7, he met with Kim Dong-il, Budget Office Director, to request prompt approval for changes in the total project cost to advance the Yeongilman Bridge construction.

Lee Kang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, meeting with Kim Wan-seop, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (left).

Especially around August 18, as the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s budget work was concluding, the mayor met individually with key officials including the Economic Budget Review Officer and department heads from major budget offices, passionately explaining one by one the essential projects, including the Yeongilman Bridge, necessary for Pohang to leap forward as a hub city for regional balanced development.

On the 22nd, the day after the National Assembly budget was passed, he met again with Kim Dong-il, Budget Office Director, in Yeouido, Seoul, to express gratitude for his efforts in securing the 2024 national budget and requested continued attention and cooperation to ensure the smooth progress of major national projects.

Having secured a large amount of budget for the Yeongilman Bridge project and future growth industries such as secondary batteries, Pohang City plans to make every effort to ensure that related projects proceed without setbacks to advance as a sustainable central city of the East Sea region.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok emphasized, “Securing national funding, which serves as the catalyst to prevent local extinction and sustain urban development, is of utmost importance. Therefore, I am constantly visiting related agencies and utilizing all available means to do my best. In particular, I will continue to devote myself wholeheartedly to the prompt construction of the Yeongilman Bridge, which connects Pohang’s development to the economic, logistics, and tourism arteries of the Republic of Korea.”

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