Gangwon Province Opens First “11 Trillion Won Era” with 11.123 Trillion Won Secured for 2027

Gangwon Secures Record-High Funding, Up 863 Billion Won from Previous Year

2.42 Trillion Won Allocated to SOC, 2.97 Trillion Won to Welfare and Health

Governor Woo Sangho Meets Finance Minister to Discuss Key Issues

Full-Scale Response to National Assembly Budget Review Begins in September

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Woo Sangho) has secured a record-high 11.123 trillion won in national funding from the 2027 government budget proposal, opening the “11 trillion won era” for the province for the first time.

Exterior view of Gangwon Provincial Government Office. Provided by Gangwon Province

On September 2, Gangwon Province announced that the government budget proposal to be submitted to the National Assembly on September 3 includes national funding related to the province totaling 11.123 trillion won. This exceeds the original target of 10.7 trillion won by 423 billion won and is 863 billion won (an 8.4% increase) higher than this year’s amount of 10.26 trillion won.

Notably, 1.2094 trillion won has been allocated for the implementation of key pledges of the 9th popularly elected administration, including expanding social overhead capital (SOC), fostering future industries, and improving residential conditions.

The provincial government has been identifying new initiatives aligned with national policies and the government’s expansionary fiscal stance, while actively seeking to secure national funds by lobbying central ministries, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the National Assembly. Near the end of the government’s budget review, Gangwon Governor Woo Sangho met directly with Minister Park Hongkeun of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to explain the necessity of major projects. The Vice Governor and heads of divisions and bureaus also made successive visits to the budget departments at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The province added that local Members of the National Assembly, regardless of party affiliation, supported the inclusion of key pending projects in the government budget proposal.

By sector, the welfare and health sector received the most funding at 2.9732 trillion won, including 937.9 billion won for basic pensions, 371.6 billion won for medical benefit services, 329.3 billion won for livelihood support, and 163.4 billion won for elderly job and social activity support.

The SOC (social overhead capital) sector secured 2.4243 trillion won. Major projects include 270.8 billion won for the Chuncheon–Sokcho railway, 190 billion won for the Yeoju–Wonju railway, 118.3 billion won for the Jecheon–Yeongwol expressway, and 55 billion won for the second Gyeongchun expressway, among others.

The economic and industrial sector included 1.2234 trillion won. Newly added items include 10.2 billion won for the construction of zero-emission vehicle hydrogen refueling infrastructure and 5.3 billion won for establishing a semiconductor design support center. Also included are 3.1 billion won for establishing an antigen-antibody material bank to foster small and medium pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMO), and 2 billion won for creating a demonstration hub for Gangwon’s medical artificial intelligence (AX) industry.

In the agriculture, forestry, marine, and environment sector, 1.3471 trillion won was secured. This includes 275.4 billion won for expanding sewage facilities, 150.6 billion won for basic public direct payment schemes, 2.7 billion won for modernizing international cruise terminal equipment, and 200 million won for animal protection center installation support.

In the safety, administration, and miscellaneous sector, 2.8566 trillion won has been allocated, including 91.8 billion won for improving disaster-prone areas and 22.5 billion won for building Gangwon-type public housing in seven regions of the province.

The culture, tourism, and sports sector secured 298.4 billion won. The government proposal includes 11.4 billion won for the repair and maintenance of state-designated heritage sites, 4.9 billion won for supporting community sports centers as part of the living SOC, and 1.1 billion won for constructing a new marine healing center.

Gangwon Province plans to maximize additional funding for projects that were not included in the government proposal or require further increases during the National Assembly's budget deliberation process. Starting this month, the province will switch to a full-on response system for the National Assembly, beginning with the Party-Government Budget Policy Council meeting on September 14, and will collaborate closely with local and Gangwon-affiliated Members of the National Assembly.

Governor Woo Sangho stated, “This achievement is the result of combined efforts from our residents, public officials, and Members of the National Assembly representing the region,” emphasizing, “It will be a significant driving force in realizing the vision of the 9th popularly mandated provincial administration.”

He continued, “For projects not reflected in the government proposal, we will work closely with local and Gangwon-affiliated Members of the National Assembly to secure the necessary national funding.”

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