City requests 161.2 billion won increase for key projects in next year's national budget
Suncheon Mayor Son Hun-mo visited the National Assembly to lobby for national budget allocations and push for the relocation of public institutions to the city in the second round of the government's public institution transfer program.
According to the city, Son visited the office of Rep. Kwon Hyang-yeop, a member of the National Assembly's Budget and Accounts Committee, on Wednesday to request national funding for five key projects totaling 161.2 billion won ($119 million) that were left out of next year's government budget proposal.
He also met with Reps. Lee Yong-seon and Yeom Tae-young of the Land and Infrastructure Committee to request additional funding for three projects, including improvements to the Maean intersection to ease traffic congestion ahead of a planned Costco opening, and to make the case for relocating second-round public institutions to Suncheon.
The specific budget requests included 149.3 billion won for the Gwangju Songjeong Station–Suncheon railway construction, 2.2 billion won for the Haeryong national highway bypass, 6 billion won to improve a bottleneck at the Maean intersection on National Highway 17, 500 million won for the 2027 Suncheon World Taekwondo Festival, and 3.25 billion won to establish a K-Disney content talent hub.
"We came to Seoul to emphasize the need to reflect key projects in the national budget ahead of the National Assembly's review of the government's budget proposal — projects that will lay the foundation for Suncheon's future growth — and to convey the city's strengths and the case for its selection in the second round of public institution relocations," a city official said.
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