Ruling party holds budget talks in North Chungcheong, pledges support for biotech projects

The Democratic Party of Korea held a budget policy consultation meeting at the North Chungcheong Provincial Government building on Friday, discussing ways to support regional projects, including biotech, as part of next year's budget review.

Party leader Kim Min-seok said at the meeting that he has "special trust and high expectations" for North Chungcheong Governor Shin Yong-han's capabilities, pledging to "actively support everything that has been raised."

Floor leader Han Byung-do said the province faces a host of pressing issues, including Cheongju International Airport and the Osong AI biotech data center, and vowed to "make sure the budget is secured for North Chungcheong's long-sought projects and future industries."

The meeting focused particularly on plans to build a dedicated civilian runway at Cheongju International Airport and to establish an AI biotech data center in Osong.

Governor Shin said, "If semiconductors are North Chungcheong's present, biotech will be its future," and urged the government and the ruling party to give their full backing to various biotech initiatives, including the K-Bio Square project and a Seoul National University R&D clinical hospital.

Shin also stressed the need for support amid the province's fiscal difficulties, calling on the government and the ruling party to "take the lead in driving the nation's future growth engine from the heart of the country."