Governor Kim Jin-Tae Meets Budget Committee Chair to Discuss Gangwon's 10 Trillion Won National Funding Era

Explaining the Rationale to Lawmakers Han Byung-Do, Song Ki-Heon, and Park Hyeong-Su
Seven Future Industry Projects, One SOC, and Two Local Issues Proposed
Most Projects Recognized as Necessary by Relevant Ministries

On the 18th, Jin-Tae Kim, Governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, visited the National Assembly and met sequentially with Byung-Do Han (representing Iksan-eul, North Jeolla Province), Chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, as well as committee members including Ki-Heon Song (representing Wonju-eul) and Hyeong-Su Park (representing Uiseong, Cheongsong, Yeongdeok, and Uljin in North Gyeongsang Province), to explain the necessity of national funding support for key pending projects.

Jintae Kim, Governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, visited the National Assembly on the 18th and met with Byungdo Han, Chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, to explain the necessity of national funding support for major ongoing projects. Provided by Gangwon Province

The major projects proposed by the province on this day comprise 10 initiatives aimed at fostering future industries, expanding social overhead capital (SOC), and addressing local issues, with a total budget of 22.8 billion won.

Among these, there are seven projects in the future industries sector, one in the SOC sector, and two in the local issues sector, focusing on areas such as semiconductors, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence.

For future industries, the province proposed: 8 billion won for establishing the Gangwon Medical AX Industry Demonstration Hub; 2.5 billion won for building a foundation for eco-friendly future vehicle parts industry applying complete precision decomposition; 1.8 billion won for constructing a medical semiconductor demonstration platform; and 2.8 billion won for a project to promote the industrial use of digital medical data. While the necessity of these projects has been acknowledged by relevant ministries, they were not included in the government’s budget proposal due to limited fiscal resources.

These projects are considered essential for strengthening the competitiveness of the province’s medical device industry-which currently ranks second nationwide in exports-and for establishing the full-cycle future vehicle industry and the semiconductor industry ecosystem, further emphasizing the need for national funding support.

Additionally, the province requested 1.7 billion won for establishing a semiconductor K-materials and components production base to secure new supply sources amid surging demand for semiconductor materials and components; 2.33 billion won for building an antigen and antibody material bank to foster small and medium-sized CDMOs as part of securing momentum for a bio-specialized cluster and localizing therapeutic materials; and 1 billion won for establishing a large-scale ESS integrated testing and certification platform to vitalize the ESS industry.

For the SOC sector, although a preliminary feasibility study is underway, the province requested 1 billion won for service fees for the Pocheon-Cheorwon Expressway to ensure the project can proceed quickly once the study is completed.

In addition, the province requested an increase of 200 million won for the Gangwon Patriots Square project, which the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs has also recognized as necessary, and 1.5 billion won for the Namdaecheon groundwater storage dam project to address funding shortfalls.

Governor Kim stated, "The projects proposed today are not for show; most have already been recognized as necessary by the relevant ministries," adding, "In particular, the total project cost for the nine projects, excluding the Pocheon-Cheorwon Expressway, amounts to only 15 billion won," and called for active interest and support.

He also emphasized that, regarding the Pocheon-Cheorwon Expressway, "Although the preliminary feasibility study is still underway, this is a project that local residents have hoped for over several decades, so prompt progress is essential."

Meanwhile, the province has secured a record 1 trillion won in national funding for next year’s government budget, but since the National Assembly’s review process remains, it plans to make every effort in close cooperation with local lawmakers to retain the secured projects and obtain additional funding for those not yet included.

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