Governor Lee Cheolwoo of Gyeongbuk: "Future Response Fund Transfer to Cut Gyeongbuk's Local Allocation Tax by 4.5 Trillion Won"... Gyeongbuk Province–People Power Party Budget Meeting

Kim Hyung-dong: "Doing Our Utmost to Secure the Required Budget"

Gyeongbuk Province (Governor Lee Cheol-woo) held the “People Power Party – Gyeongbuk Province Budget Policy Meeting” at 8 a.m. on September 8 at the National Assembly Member's Office Building. The two sides agreed to work as one team to secure national funding for 2027 and resolve key local issues.

This meeting was organized ahead of the National Assembly’s review of the 2027 government budget plan. Its aims were to share the direction of the provincial administration, discuss core regional issues, and seek strategies to secure national funds for major projects.

Members attending the Budget Policy Meeting of the People Power Party and Gyeongbuk Province are taking a commemorative photo.

The event was attended by Kim Hyung-dong, Chair of the People Power Party’s Gyeongbuk Provincial Chapter, all local constituency National Assembly members, and roughly 50 senior officials from Gyeongbuk Province, including Governor Lee Cheol-woo.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk stated, “With the transfer to the Future Response Fund, it is estimated that Gyeongbuk’s local allocation tax will decrease by 4.5 trillion won—the largest reduction among metropolitan municipalities. This amounts to the central government taking away local government budgets to spend at the national level, which clearly goes against the principles of local autonomy and decentralization. I urge the National Assembly to respond firmly on this front.”

The estimated reduction by metropolitan municipality is as follows: Gyeongbuk - 4.5 trillion won, Jeonnam - 3.8 trillion won, Gyeongnam - 3.4 trillion won, Gangwon - 3.1 trillion won, Jeonbuk - 2.7 trillion won, and Chungnam - 2.6 trillion won.

People Power Party lawmakers also voiced their concerns, saying, “This is not a ‘Future Response Fund’ but a ‘Future Disappearance Fund.’ The government, which has listed local autonomy as a national objective, is instead leading the charge in undermining local fiscal independence. As a party, we will actively respond together with Gyeongbuk Province.”

Gyeongbuk Province explained the direction of its ninth popularly elected administration, aiming to deliver tangible results for residents through four transformative changes in industry, space, community, and livelihoods, with a vision to open a “new Republic of Korea powered by Gyeongbuk.”

Governor Lee Cheol-woo stated, “As advances in AI and robotics liberate humans from labor, an era is coming where eating well, playing, and enjoying life become important. We will create Gyeongbuk’s future growth engines by proactively investing in the food industry, bio-health, and the cultural, arts, and tourism industries.”

To achieve these four major transformations, the province plans to pursue administrative integration between Daegu and Gyeongbuk, forging an advanced industrial ecosystem that can compete with the Seoul metropolitan area. In addition, there is a vision to establish a global economic belt connecting industry, tourism, and logistics, using the new airport and Yeongilman Port as two central hubs.

Gyeongbuk Province emphasized the necessity of securing national funds for five focus areas: strengthening advanced industrial competitiveness, globalizing the food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors, leading K-culture culture and tourism industries, building reliable welfare, health, and safety systems, and establishing an innovative growth transportation network.

For public institution relocations, the province will strengthen efforts to attract institutions related to its specialized industries—including Korea Racing Authority, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, Korea Foundation of Nuclear Safety, and Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement. At the same time, Gyeongbuk will also focus on attracting the headquarters and key functions of integrated institutions following the recent government announcement regarding the restructuring and merger of public institutions.

Kim Hyung-dong, Chair of the People Power Party’s Gyeongbuk Provincial Chapter, said, “We will do our utmost to secure the necessary budgets so that Gyeongbuk can become a new growth hub, leading balanced national development in Korea.”

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