Meeting with Assemblymen Sang-hwi Lee and Jeong-jae Kim to Join Forces for Increasing Funding of Key Local Projects
Budget Committee Member Ja-geun Gu Proposes to Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Committee Members Mi-ae Im and Man-hee Lee
Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang City visited the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul on the 4th to meet with lawmakers and make an all-out effort to secure next year's national budget, which will serve as the foundation for regional development.
As the National Assembly budget session began in earnest, Mayor Lee returned from his overseas schedule on the 3rd and immediately started working on securing an increased national budget for next year with swift actions the following day.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang visited the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul on the 4th to meet with lawmakers and launched an all-out response. (Mayor Lee Kang-deok meeting with Assemblyman Koo Ja-geun)
On that day, Mayor Lee first met with Assemblyman Koo Ja-geun, the secretary of the Budget and Accounts Committee, to actively request cooperation to ensure that key priority projects are reflected in next year's government budget proposal. He also met with local lawmakers Assemblyman Lee Sang-hwi (Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee) and Assemblyman Kim Jung-jae (Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee) to join forces in increasing the budget for core regional projects.
Additionally, due to the recent increase in the activity period of vector insects caused by climate change, which has led to the spread of pine wilt disease, Mayor Lee met with Assemblywoman Im Mi-ae and Assemblyman Lee Man-hee, members of the Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, to propose the following measures for disease control: ▲Pine Wilt Disease Control (4.2 billion KRW) ▲Removal and reforestation of pine trees affected by pine wilt disease by the Pohang Special Service Agency (4.8 billion KRW).
Pohang City's proposed budget increase requests to the National Assembly total 20 projects amounting to 68.6 billion KRW. For R&D projects, the requests include ▲Development of Quantum Technology Performance Testing Environment (5 billion KRW) ▲Expansion of the 4th Generation Bangka Accelerator Beamline (6.7 billion KRW) ▲Development of Innovative Targeted Drug Delivery Core Technology (1 billion KRW).
Mayor Lee also urged lawmakers to unite in increasing the budget for follow-up projects in the secondary battery specialized complex, including ▲Establishment of a Secondary Battery Open Innovation Center (2 billion KRW) ▲Construction of an Energy-saving Eco-friendly Manufacturing Process Testbed for High-nickel Cathode Materials (2.1 billion KRW) ▲Establishment of a Secondary Battery Recycled Raw Materials Stockpile Center (20 billion KRW).
Furthermore, he emphasized the necessity of increasing the budget for the second phase of the Yeongilman Port International Passenger Terminal CIQ (Customs, Immigration, Quarantine) facility construction project (2.3 billion KRW) and the construction of a connecting passageway on the rooftop of a new parking lot to alleviate the chronic parking shortage at Pohang Station (4.4 billion KRW).
The review of next year's government budget proposal officially began with the government policy speech on the 4th and will continue with comprehensive policy questioning by the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts over two days starting on the 7th. During the budget review process, the city plans to make every effort to secure national funds through active cooperation with local lawmakers, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and central government officials.
Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “To ensure that ongoing projects proceed without setbacks, I will work closely with local lawmakers until the budget review is complete, continuously meeting and persuading members of the National Assembly and officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance to secure next year's national budget.”
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