Gang Im-jun, Gunsan Mayor, Busy Securing Next Year's National Budget

Meeting with the Ministry of Economy and Finance's General Budget Review Officer and Economic Budget Review Officer on the 9th

Mayor Kang Im-jun is meeting with the Budget General Review Officer (top) and the Economic Budget Review Officer (bottom) of the Ministry of Economy and Finance to request national funding support. Photo by Gunsan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jaehee] Kang Imjun, mayor of Gunsan City, is busy day after day persuading the Ministry of Economy and Finance to secure the national budget for next year.

According to the city on the 9th, Mayor Kang Imjun visited the Ministry of Economy and Finance and met with the Budget General Review Officer and the Economic Budget Review Officer to request national funding support for resolving current issues.

This visit was a follow-up to Mayor Kang’s visit to the Ministry’s working-level department on the 29th of last month to propose major projects, and was conducted through meetings with Choi Sangdae, Budget General Review Officer, and Han Hoon, Economic Budget Review Officer.

On this day, Mayor Kang explained the current status where the budget for the “Establishment of a Digital Twin for Renewable Energy and Eco-friendly Transportation Demonstration Research Base” project was secured in the government’s 3rd supplementary budget, and that the Renewable Energy National Comprehensive Demonstration Research Complex project was finally selected as a target for preliminary feasibility study.

He presented a blueprint showing that a 4GW-scale solar and offshore wind power generation complex is being promoted in the Gunsan area and that the establishment of a research facility demonstration center is becoming visible, emphasizing the necessity of national funding support for related new projects.

He also stressed that, in order to achieve economic stimulus and synergy effects amid ongoing orders for offshore wind substructure contracts and solar power equipment manufacturing, national funding support is needed for the Gunsan Port 7th Pier Yard Development Project (44.1 billion KRW) and the Shipbuilding Marine Installation and Transportation Infrastructure Construction Project (25 billion KRW).

He expressed his ambition to create new jobs linked to win-win type employment as well as to establish the largest renewable energy cluster in the country with government support.

Furthermore, he explained the necessity of the Innovation Manufacturing Startup Factory Construction Project (3 billion KRW), a Gunsan-type job creation startup model, which secured 8.9 billion KRW this year from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s budget for remodeling closed or idle factories in industrial complexes.

Through this, they plan to create a 1,200-pyeong scale rental factory in the Gunsan National Industrial Complex and move in about ten startup companies from next year to build an ecosystem for manufacturing startups in materials, parts, and equipment.

He emphasized that to achieve successful results, securing budget for purchasing expensive shared equipment and support projects for startup incubating is essential, and repeatedly requested government-level policy consideration for restructuring the industrial structure in employment and industrial crisis areas.

Mayor Kang Imjun said, “We are continuously communicating from working-level officials to directors at the Ministry of Economy and Finance to secure national funding for key projects next year,” and added, “For projects with contentious issues, we will prepare response logic and make our best efforts to persuade the Ministry of Economy and Finance through political cooperation including National Assembly member Shin Youngdae.”