Gangwon Province Opens '10 Trillion Won National Budget Era'... Governor Kim Jin-tae Vows Early Execution for Residents' Benefit

No Cuts to Government Proposal of 10.2003 Trillion Won,
National Assembly Adds 59.7 Billion Won in Additional Funding
Unprecedented Scale: 39.8 Billion Won for 36 Newly Added Projects in National Assembly Increase
Gangwon Enters the 10 Trillion Won National Budget Era...
10.26 Trillion Won Secured for 2026

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) officially announced the opening of the "Gangwon 10 Trillion Won National Budget Era" by securing 10.26 trillion won in national funds for 2026 at the provincial government briefing room on December 3.

Kim Jin-tae, Governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, officially announced the opening of the "Gangwon National Budget 10 Trillion Era" by securing 10.26 trillion won in national funds for 2026 at the provincial government briefing room on the 3rd. Photo by Lee Jong-gu

This finalized amount reflects an increase of 59.7 billion won (0.6%) during the National Assembly review process, added to the government's original proposal of 10.2003 trillion won, with not a single reduction. The increase includes 39.8 billion won for 36 new projects and 19.9 billion won for 11 expanded projects.

In particular, the scale of new projects added during the National Assembly's budget increase process is considered unprecedented.

Notable examples include: ▲ 1 billion won (with a total project cost of 12 billion won) for the creation of the Gangwon National Defense Square to commemorate the Battle of Chuncheon, one of the three major battles of the Korean War; ▲ 2 billion won (with a total project cost of 35 billion won) for establishing the Gangwon Medical AX Industry Demonstration Hub, a cancer treatment infrastructure based on medical data; and ▲ 1 billion won (with a total project cost of 24.5 billion won) for the third-phase construction of a large-scale ESS complex testing and certification platform, aimed at making the province the nation’s only international ESS testing and certification center (with the first and second phases already underway). These projects, which the province has prioritized, address key local issues and lay the foundation for future industries.

By major sector, the secured amounts are as follows: 1.1968 trillion won for future industries, an increase of 102.4 billion won compared to the previous year’s 1.0944 trillion won. This includes 23.7 billion won for semiconductors, 39.2 billion won for bio, 13.6 billion won for future vehicles, and 21.6 billion won for AI, with a significant portion allocated to the province’s seven core future industries and AI-related projects, which are fundamental to future industry development.

The SOC (social overhead capital) sector secured 2.3628 trillion won. This includes 169.6 billion won for the East-West High-Speed Railway (an increase of 8.9 billion won from the previous year), 81 billion won for the Second Gyeongchun National Road (an increase of 57.4 billion won from the previous year), 5 billion won for the Yeongwol-Samcheok Expressway, 500 million won for the Yongmun-Hongcheon Metropolitan Railway, 1 billion won for the Gangneung-Samcheok High-Speed Railway, and 100 million won for the construction of the Soyang 8 Bridge.

The welfare sector secured 2.8315 trillion won, an increase of 217.7 billion won (8.3%) from the 2.6138 trillion won allocated for 2025.

Kim Siseong, Chairman of the Provincial Assembly, stated, "Since the launch of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, we have made significant efforts to become a global city for future industries. In this process of securing national funds, more than 10 new future industry-related projects were included, and many projects not in the original government proposal were added during the National Assembly review."

Governor Jin Tae Kim of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province officially announced the opening of the "Gangwon 10 Trillion Won National Budget Era" by securing 10.26 trillion won in national funds for 2026 at the provincial government briefing room on the 3rd. Photo by Jonggu Lee

He added, "The Provincial Assembly will continue to do its utmost to help Gangwon leap forward as a future industrial city and to improve the quality of life for residents."

Governor Kim Jin-tae emphasized, "We managed to preserve the 10.2003 trillion won included in the government budget proposal without any cuts, and an additional 59.7 billion won was secured. It is extremely rare for a government budget proposal to pass without a single reduction."

He further explained, "Among the projects with increased funding from the National Assembly, the 36 new projects represent a very large scale, and in terms of total project cost, they amount to several hundred billion won."

Governor Kim Jin-tae stated, "Having secured such a large amount of national funds, we will execute the budget early so that residents can feel the impact. I would like to thank the local National Assembly members who joined forces to help secure these funds."

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