Jeonnam-Gwangju Makes All-Out Push to Secure Additional KRW 500 Billion in National Funding, Teams Up with Democratic Party to Seek National Assembly Budget Increases

KRW 13.9009 trillion included in government proposal, up 6.3% from previous year
Seeking increased funding for key projects, including Metro Line 2 and semiconductors
30 city, county and district priorities included; plans to submit proposals for more than 170 projects to lawmakers

Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City will work with the Democratic Party of Korea’s Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City chapter to jointly respond to the National Assembly’s budget deliberations, seeking to secure more than KRW 500 billion in additional national funding for 2027.

On November 3, the city held a budget policy consultation meeting with the Democratic Party’s Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City chapter in Seminar Room 2 of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building and discussed ways to secure additional national funding.

Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Mayor Min Hyung-bae poses for a commemorative photo with local lawmakers and officials from the council of heads of local governments at the “Democratic Party of Korea Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Chapter–Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Budget Policy Consultation” held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul on the morning of the 3rd. Photo courtesy of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City.

Attendees included Mayor Min Hyungbae, Ahn Do-geol, chair of the Democratic Party’s Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City chapter, regional lawmakers, and officials from the council of heads of local governments. They reviewed projects requiring increased funding during the National Assembly’s deliberations and agreed to coordinate their response.

The meeting was held after the National Assembly audit had concluded and as the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts was set to begin comprehensive policy questioning on November 4.

National funding for Jeonnam-Gwangju included in the 2027 government budget proposal amounts to KRW 13.9009 trillion. This is KRW 820.5 billion, or 6.3%, more than the KRW 13.0804 trillion secured by the former Jeonnam and Gwangju regions last year. The city aims to secure more than KRW 500 billion in additional funding, focusing on projects that were not included in the first government budget proposal since the regions’ integration or were only partially funded.

Key projects for which the city is seeking funding include KRW 18 billion for design costs for eight projects included in the Sixth National Highway and National Support Local Road Construction Plan; KRW 8.1 billion to support certification of eco-friendly agricultural products; KRW 900 million to develop a K-GIM export complex; and KRW 600 million to hold the City of Light Symbolic Media Art Festival.

The city also requested increases of KRW 113 billion for construction of Gwangju Metro Line 2 and KRW 1 billion for the installation of an inflow water pipeline for the Honam-region semiconductor cluster. It also sought KRW 500 million to support community recovery in areas affected by the 12.29 passenger plane disaster and KRW 1.3 billion for Jeonnam-Gwangju diocesan events at the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day.

The meeting also discussed ways to secure national funding for 30 projects proposed by city, county and district governments, with a combined budget of KRW 56.8 billion. The projects include the development of a GIST advanced bio campus in Hwasun, support for revitalizing Arctic shipping routes, construction of the Yeosu International Cruise Complex, development of infrastructure to support the commercialization of key power equipment for advanced industries, and the creation of a green convergence cluster.

The city plans to deliver written questionnaires to regional lawmakers covering about 170 additional projects that require national funding or increases. The questionnaires are intended to help lawmakers use the information in deliberations by their relevant standing committees and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

“We will lay the groundwork for Jeonnam-Gwangju’s remarkable growth and create a new growth engine for South Korea by putting together our first integrated budget properly,” Mayor Min Hyungbae said. “We will devote all our efforts until the National Assembly’s deliberations are complete.”

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