Gwangju City Goes All Out to Secure Next Year's National Budget... 'National Assembly Situation Room' Activated

AI Level 2, Future Cars, and Other Essential and Priority Projects
Sharing National Assembly Trends and Information for Step-by-Step Response

Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki-jung is meeting with Park Jung, Chairman of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, at the National Assembly on the 29th of last month to request the inclusion of national funding for major Gwangju city projects.
[Photo by Gwangju City]

As the National Assembly begins reviewing next year's budget proposal, Gwangju City is mobilizing its National Assembly Response Situation Room and making every effort to secure funding for local issues. Although difficulties are expected in securing additional national funds due to the government's austerity policy and a decrease in national tax revenue, the "time of the National Assembly" is more crucial than ever to advance local issues and future growth projects.

According to Gwangju City on the 3rd, the government budget for Gwangju region projects next year was set at 2.3244 trillion won in August. This amount is 181.8 billion won (5.8%) more than this year's government budget of 3.1426 trillion won.

However, the city plans to make full use of the "time of the National Assembly" to secure additional funding for projects not reflected in the government budget or to increase project budgets. Before the National Assembly's review, the city will strengthen its "increase rationale" and establish and operate a "National Assembly Response Situation Room" at the Seoul External Cooperation Headquarters to respond at each stage of the budget review process.

The National Assembly Response Situation Room will have a national fund strategy team stationed there and will operate as one team with the External Cooperation Headquarters and department heads. The mayor, deputy mayor, and department heads will frequently visit the National Assembly to persuade lawmakers of the urgency of local projects. Additionally, they will maintain close cooperation with local lawmakers and Team Gwangju members, sharing trends and information by standing committee, electoral district, and interest project to carry out persuasion efforts.

The city previously held meetings with local lawmakers and a ruling party-government budget policy council to cooperate in securing additional national funds. On the 29th of last month, Mayor Kang met with the chairman of the National Assembly Budget Committee and requested cooperation to secure national funding for key projects such as ▲ the establishment of the AX (Artificial Intelligence Transformation) Demonstration Valley (AI Phase 2), ▲ the remanufacturing of automobile parts and the establishment of a circular economy system, and ▲ the construction of a reliability certification center based on standards for future automobile recognition parts.

Mayor Kang of Gwangju stated, "For the future of Gwangju, projects that were not reflected or only partially reflected in the government budget must be increased during the National Assembly review process," and urged, "I hope that department heads will make the most of the 'time of the National Assembly' until the very end."