SUNCHEON — Suncheon Mayor Son Hun-mo has taken the city's funding requests to the National Assembly in a broad push to secure state money for projects the city says will drive its future growth.
Son visited the National Assembly on Sept. 30 to press for inclusion of key state-funded projects in the 2027 budget and for the city to be chosen in the second round of public agency relocations, the Suncheon city government said on the 1st.
The visit came ahead of parliamentary deliberation on the government's budget proposal. It was a strategic move to get the city's future industries, transport infrastructure and industrial base written into the national budget.
Son met Rep. Kwon Hyang-yub of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts and explained the need to increase funding for five core projects, totaling 161.2 billion won ($116 million), that were left out of the government's 2027 proposal.
He then asked Rep. Lee Yong-sun and Rep. Yeom Tae-young, both members of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, to support relocating public agencies to Suncheon in the second round and to back an upgrade of the Maean intersection, a measure aimed at easing congestion expected from the opening of a Costco store.
He also visited the offices of Reps. Lee Gun-tae, Jang Kyung-tae, Moon Keum-joo, Kim Moon-soo, Cheon Ha-ram and Kim Tae-nyeon to request parliamentary support for the city's pending issues.
The main projects the city put forward were an additional 149.3 billion won for the Gwangju Songjeong-Suncheon railway, 2.2 billion won for a bypass road replacing a national highway in Suncheon's Haeryong area, 6 billion won to ease a bottleneck at the Maean intersection on National Highway No. 17, 500 million won for the 2027 Suncheon World Taekwondo Hanmadang and 3.25 billion won to establish a K-Disney content talent hub.
For the Gwangju Songjeong-Suncheon railway in particular, the city said the priorities are settling on an optimal route that reflects the views of local residents and moving the project forward quickly.
The Haeryong bypass and the Maean intersection upgrade are intended to get ahead of rapidly rising traffic demand and improve access across the eastern part of South Jeolla (Jeonnam) Province.
The 2027 Suncheon World Taekwondo Hanmadang is expected to combine sports and tourism to inject momentum into the local economy.
The K-Disney content talent hub aims to train workers in webtoons and animation and strengthen the foundation of the content industry. It is a strategic project meant to turn Suncheon into a regionally led growth base for content.
On the second round of public agency relocations, Son argued the case for bringing agencies to Suncheon. He said moving agencies in the environment, energy and culture fields to the city would further strengthen the industrial ecosystem in the eastern part of South Jeolla (Jeonnam) Province, linked to the national industrial complexes in Yeosu and Gwangyang.
Suncheon is the central city of the eastern Gwangju and Jeonnam region and has ecological, industrial and cultural resources. Son said the city is drawing on those strengths as it competes in earnest to attract relocated agencies.
"Now that parliamentary review of the government budget proposal is in full swing, we will communicate closely with the National Assembly to make sure the projects tied directly to Suncheon's future growth are included," Son said.
