Gov. Park Soo-hyun meets Ministry of Planning and Budget officials in bid to secure 1.5 trillion won in government funding
South Chungcheong Province is in the final stretch of its push to secure national budget allocations for next year. Governor Park Soo-hyun has been meeting in quick succession with senior officials at the Ministry of Planning and Budget — first the minister last month, then the vice minister — in an all-out effort to win funding.
Ahead of the government's final budget draft, Park visited the Ministry of Planning and Budget on Wednesday and met with Vice Minister Jo Yong-beom, requesting government support for key provincial projects the province says must be included in next year's budget.
The visit was aimed at reiterating the case for projects that were either left out of ministry drafts or had their funding trimmed, and at urging the government to include critical initiatives in both the national budget and national development plans to promote balanced regional growth and secure future economic drivers.
The 10 projects Park put forward were: connecting the West Coast Line to the Gyeongbu high-speed rail (KTX) line; the "Five Poles, South Chungcheong AI Transformation" initiative; establishing a national veterans' cemetery in the South Chungcheong region; building an AI-specialized pilot city; constructing a new livestock environment management agency; securing passage through the sixth round of bulk preliminary feasibility studies for national and local roads; and having projects included in the fifth national railway network development plan.
Excluding road and rail national plan items, the projects carry a combined total cost of 1.5 trillion won ($1.05 billion). The province asked the government to actively support 55.1 billion won in next year's budget allocations and to ensure that key preliminary steps — including preliminary feasibility study approvals and inclusion in national plans — proceed without delay.
In particular, the "Five Poles, South Chungcheong AI Transformation" and "AI-specialized pilot city" projects were highlighted as central to building an AI-based industrial ecosystem, driving locally led digital innovation and strengthening the country's overall AI competitiveness. Park said government budget support is essential to nurturing these future strategic industries.
Park also explained that connecting the West Coast Line to the Gyeongbu high-speed rail line, securing inclusion in the fifth national railway network plan, and passing the sixth round of bulk preliminary feasibility studies for national and local roads are all foundational projects for expanding the transport network of South Chungcheong and the broader Chungcheong metropolitan alliance, and for driving balanced national development.
Alongside this, the construction of a national veterans' cemetery in the South Chungcheong region and a new livestock environment management agency were presented as projects to strengthen national veterans' infrastructure and livestock environment policy. Park urged government support to improve living conditions and public services in the region.
Park said the government budget is critical to securing future growth engines and achieving balanced national development, and called on the Ministry of Planning and Budget to take an active interest and cooperate in ensuring the province's key priorities are reflected as fully as possible in the government's budget draft.
The province said it will concentrate its administrative resources on securing next year's government budget — continuing to make the case for key projects to the Ministry of Planning and Budget and central government agencies until the budget bill is submitted to the National Assembly, and working closely with the Assembly to seek increases for any projects left out of or reduced in the government's draft during the legislative review process.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
