Assignment follows roles as chair of two previous committees in successive National Assembly terms
Lawmaker cites suicide prevention, low birth rate and drug control as three priority issues
Kim pledges to advance Incheon's Cheongna Asan Hospital, public medical school and biotech industry
Kim Kyo-heung, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker representing Incheon's Seo-gu Gap district, has been appointed simultaneously to the Health and Welfare Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts in the second half of the 22nd National Assembly.
Kim said he intends to deliver tangible results for constituents and regional development now that he will oversee both welfare policy and national budget review.
"I have been given new responsibilities on the Health and Welfare Committee, which is closest to people's daily lives, and on the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, which sits at the heart of national fiscal management," Kim said in a statement Thursday. "I will carry this weighty responsibility and work to produce real outcomes for the public and for my region."
Kim served as chair of the Public Administration and Security Committee in the 21st National Assembly and as chair of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee in the first half of the 22nd Assembly. He plans to draw on that experience to sharpen his policy drive in welfare and budgeting during the second half of the term.
On the Health and Welfare Committee, he identified suicide prevention, responses to the low birth rate and aging population, and curbing the spread of drugs as the three major challenges facing Korean society.
"I will strengthen the safety net for life and reform the care system to advance welfare policies that people can actually feel," Kim said. "I will actively support government policies aimed at improving livelihoods so they can deliver results on the ground."
Regarding his work on the budget committee, Kim said he would focus his efforts on securing national funding needed to address regional priorities.
He pledged to push ahead without delay on establishing a public medical school and building Cheongna Asan Hospital to expand Incheon's medical infrastructure, and said he would also lend his support to developing the biotech industry as a future growth engine.
Kim also said he would actively work to secure budget allocations to close gaps in welfare coverage.
"Budgets are not won with words — they are won with results," he said. "I will pour every bit of experience and capability I built as chair of the Public Administration and Security Committee and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee into improving people's lives and advancing Seo-gu."
He added that he would "communicate closely with government ministries to resolve the region's long-standing priorities with urgency" and repay residents' trust through results and funding. "I will continue to prove myself through action," he said.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
