Daegu mayor meets budget minister to push for national funding

Daegu is stepping up efforts to secure national government funding for next year's budget.

Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho met with Ministry of Planning and Budget Minister Park Hong-keun on Friday to present 10 priority national funding projects across three key areas aligned with the government's policy agenda and to request their inclusion in the government's draft budget, the city said Saturday.

The meeting followed a series of budget-related engagements: a budget policy consultation with local lawmakers on July 9, meetings with vice ministers from four central government ministries on July 13, and a relay of meetings with the planning ministry's vice minister and senior officials from its budget and fiscal performance divisions on Monday.

Choo first raised the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province integrated airport project, saying the relocation of the military airfield is a national security matter that requires the central government to take fiscal responsibility.

He also called for government support to cover financing costs stemming from project delays, and said industrial and transportation infrastructure expansion projects should be included in the government's draft budget.

Choo further requested government support for key infrastructure projects aimed at balanced national development, including the construction of a national musical complex and the expansion of the metropolitan transportation network.

He also outlined the importance of core AI and robotics projects to strengthen the city's competitiveness in emerging industries, and urged the government to provide active support.

"I will personally oversee each project and push them forward with urgency until every one bears fruit, so that Daegu's future is reflected as fully as possible in the government's draft budget," Choo said.