Chungnam Province to Invest 164.1 Billion Won in Balanced Development of Seven Southwestern Cities and Counties

Selection of the Second Round of Autonomous City and County Projects
to Be Implemented from 2026 to 2030

Chungnam Provincial Government

Chungnam Province announced on the 3rd that it will invest a total project budget of 164.1 billion KRW by 2030 to promote balanced development in seven cities and counties in the southwestern region, including Cheongyang-gun, Buyeo-gun, Seocheon-gun, and Hongseong-gun.

The province stated that at the Balanced Development Committee meeting held in the provincial government’s small conference room on May 31, the final selection was made for the second round of autonomous city and county projects, totaling 164.1 billion KRW, for 16 districts in seven cities and counties, as part of the second phase, second term regional balanced development project to be implemented from 2026 to 2030.

The projects selected this time were additional projects that were not included in the first round last year, focusing on fostering new industries, revitalizing old downtown areas, attracting population inflow, and improving residential conditions, in line with the project’s objectives.

Excluding Gongju, Nonsan, and Geumsan, which were selected in the first round, the confirmed projects by city and county are as follows: Boryeong - 3 projects, 36.6 billion KRW; Buyeo - 1 project, 9.3 billion KRW; Seocheon - 4 projects, 23.4 billion KRW; Cheongyang - 2 projects, 19.7 billion KRW; Hongseong - 2 projects, 29.6 billion KRW; Yesan - 3 projects, 33.5 billion KRW; Taean - 1 project, 12 billion KRW.

Major projects include: Boryeong’s Energy Convergence Cluster Construction Project (17.2 billion KRW), Buyeo-gun’s Education Companion Maru Construction Project (9.3 billion KRW), Seocheon-gun’s Young Farmer Fostering and Smart Agriculture Base Construction (6 billion KRW), Cheongyang-gun’s Young Chef Training Center (8.9 billion KRW), Hongseong-gun’s Yongbongsan Area Regional Coexistence Base Construction Project (18 billion KRW), Yesan-gun’s Station Market Youth Startup Support Center Construction Project (8.3 billion KRW), and Taean-gun’s Food Tourism Industry Base Construction Project (12 billion KRW).

To discover balanced development projects, the province conducted a comprehensive analysis of 17 indicators across seven sectors, including population, finance/income, employment/industry, infrastructure, living environment, education/culture, and welfare for each city and county, and selected 10 cities and counties?Gongju, Boryeong, Nonsan, Geumsan, Buyeo, Seocheon, Cheongyang, Hongseong, Yesan, and Taean?to begin project discovery in the second half of 2023.

In the first half of last year, the province selected 10 provincial proposal projects (322.6 billion KRW), 17 city and county competitive public offering projects (244.1 billion KRW), and the first round of city and county autonomous projects (25 districts, 311.9 billion KRW).

So Myungsoo, Director of the Provincial Balanced Development Bureau, said, “This second phase, second term regional balanced development project is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of underdeveloped cities and counties,” and added, “We will do our best to ensure the smooth progress of the projects, including establishing development plans and completing preliminary administrative procedures by the end of this year.”