South Jeolla Province Selects 13 New Projects for “Living SOC Complex” Initiative

Securing 41.5 Billion KRW in National Funding
Second Largest Project Budget Nationwide
South Jeolla to Launch 13 New “Living SOC Complex” Initiatives
Integrated Facilities to Enhance Local Convenience and Revitalize Communities

[Asia Economy Honam News Bureau, Reporter Yoon Jamin] On September 20, South Jeolla Province announced that it had secured 41.5 billion KRW in national funding for 13 new projects selected for next year’s “Living SOC Complex” initiative.

This is the second largest amount of project funding secured among all regions nationwide.

The Living SOC Complex initiative aims to break away from the traditional method where each ministry established its own facilities separately. Instead, it brings together a variety of facilities closely related to daily life in a single location, with the goal of reducing costs and improving convenience for residents.

This project is a strategic initiative of the Moon Jae-in administration and is being implemented in accordance with the “Three-Year Living SOC Plan (2020?2022)” announced last year.

Incentives are provided, such as increasing the national funding ratio for each project, when two or more facilities among the 13 eligible types?including libraries, sports, cultural and health centers, daycare centers, childcare and care centers, senior care facilities, local food complex centers, and parking lots?are built as a complex on a single site.

The recently selected Suncheon Old Town Cultural Station project will utilize the ground space above an underground rainwater storage facility to create a complex of five facilities, including a public parking lot, a living culture center, a family center, a health living support center, and a local food complex center, with a total investment of 22 billion KRW.

This project is expected to improve the outdated parking environment, secure cultural spaces, and revitalize the local commercial district in the Jangcheon-dong area of the old city center.

Suncheon City was also selected for another project, which will remodel the existing Women’s Culture Center to establish a small library and a living culture center.

The Living SOC Complex Center to be built in Bitgaram Innovation City, Naju, will be developed as a customized complex platform for all family members, including a children’s specialized library, a community care center, a comprehensive childcare support center, and a local food complex center, thereby improving residential conditions in the innovation city.

In Haenam and Jindo, sports facilities will be established as complex buildings to provide spaces for health management, leisure activities, and cultural enjoyment for people with disabilities and the elderly.

In particular, the Haenam Complex Sports and Culture Center will operate survival swimming programs for infants and youth in cooperation with local schools.

The Jindo Senior Care Sports Center will serve as a regional hub sports facility, not only for users of the senior care facility but also for those from nearby welfare centers for people with disabilities.

Family centers that provide integrated support for counseling, education, and care tailored to family characteristics will be built together with care centers or libraries in seven cities and counties, including the Suncheon Old Town Cultural Station, Gurye, Goheung, Boseong, Yeongam, Muan, and Wando.

This is expected to enable the provision of universal family services centered on local communities.

In addition, the “Seokgok Hakdang Living SOC Project” in Gokseong and the “Multipurpose Public Library Construction” project in Shinan have also been selected. These projects will combine libraries and care centers to enhance cultural opportunities for residents in rural and island areas at the township level.

Cho Daejeong, Budget Officer of South Jeolla Province, stated, “Since the end of last year, we have responded more quickly than other regions by holding consulting sessions touring cities and counties to discover new projects, which has led to securing the second largest amount of project funding nationwide. Next year, we will also make every effort to actively identify essential complex facilities for the region and secure as much project funding as possible.”