Gyeongsangnam-do Activates National Assembly Situation Room at Seoul Office ... Targets 160 Billion Won Increase in Next Year's Central Funding

Gyeongsangnam-do said on October 30 that it would set up and operate a National Assembly situation room at its Seoul office to secure additional central government funding for next year.

The situation room will operate for one month. It was established to strengthen cooperation with lawmakers representing Gyeongsangnam-do and respond in real time to the National Assembly’s review of next year’s government budget proposal.

Led by Park Seongmin, director of the provincial Planning and Coordination Office and head of the situation room, the National Funding Strategy Team, Seoul office, financial cooperation officer and National Assembly liaison will serve as a communications channel between the provincial government and the National Assembly and as the command center for securing central government funding.

Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government Office. Photo by Lee Seryeong.

Gyeongsangnam-do said it secured a record 11 trillion 681.1 billion won in central government funding in the government budget proposal, but that projects requiring additional funding remain.

These include construction of the Geoje-Tongyeong Expressway, for which funding has yet to be allocated despite passing a preliminary feasibility study in August 2025; construction of nine national highways and locally managed national roads, which passed comprehensive preliminary feasibility studies in late August 2026; the establishment of a foundation for prototype production and testing and evaluation to achieve self-reliance in materials and components for advanced aircraft engines, following the designation of a specialized advanced aircraft engine complex in September 2026; and a feasibility study for establishing a Smart Port MRO Training Center to build the foundation for smart port operations at Jinhae New Port.

In this round of the National Assembly’s budget review, the provincial government plans to seek an increase of about 160 billion won in central government funding for around 30 projects, aiming to meet its target of 11 trillion 700 billion won.

To this end, Vice Governor for Administration Park Ilwoong visited the Ministry of Planning and Budget and the National Assembly, while Lee Youngil, special policy adviser, visited the National Assembly to request cooperation in securing funding for key projects.

On November 2, Vice Governor for Innovation and Growth Choi Manrim is scheduled to visit the National Assembly, followed by provincial governor Park Wansu on November 9, to focus on securing funding for key projects.

Park, director of the Planning and Coordination Office, said, "We will work to ensure that all the central government funding secured by our province in the government budget proposal is reflected in the final budget. Since funding for projects that must get underway next year is still at stake, we will do our utmost until the very end. With the National Assembly situation room at the center, we will work with lawmakers from our region and devote every effort to securing funding in the final stages."

Gyeongsangnam-do’s all-out push to secure central government funding is expected to mark an important turning point in building momentum for key regional projects, going beyond simply increasing the budget.

In particular, the key question is whether cooperation across party lines and persuasive arguments for the necessity of each project during the National Assembly’s review will lead to actual budget allocations.

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