South Jeolla Province Governor Kim Young-rok proposed to the government financial support for the stable launch of the Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated special city and prompt promotion of the Jeolla Line high-speed rail project.
According to South Jeolla Province, Governor Kim met with Vice Minister of Planning and Budget Lim Ki-geun at Seoul City Tower on the 24th, explained the need to expand the financial base of the integrated special city and support regional core infrastructure projects, and requested cooperation at the government level.
Governor Kim emphasized the need for continuous financial support for at least 10 years, saying, “Long-term and stable financial support is essential for administrative integration to lead to actual results rather than just a declaration.”
In particular, they also proposed a ‘non-inclusion’ measure to prevent the government’s proposed integrated support fund of 20 trillion won from being reflected as fiscal revenue when calculating ordinary grant tax. This is a measure to ensure practical financial support effects.
The need to improve the financial structure of autonomous districts was also raised. Governor Kim explained that since autonomous districts carry out administration closely related to the lives of residents, there is a need to improve the system in which ordinary grant taxes are directly distributed.
In addition, permanent preservation of financial resources for the local transfer conversion project was also requested. He emphasized that Jeonnam is expected to see an annual financial decline of more than 500 billion won if the currently temporarily preserved financial resources expire, raising concerns about disruption in the promotion of essential projects in rural areas.
In addition, the rapid promotion of the Jeolla Line high-speed railway (Iksan-Yeosu) project was also presented as a key recommendation. This project, worth a total of 1.9326 trillion won, is to straighten and speed up existing curved sections and is currently undergoing a preliminary feasibility study.
South Jeolla Province emphasized the need for rapid promotion in terms of balanced national development, saying that although the Jeolla Line is a key axis connecting the metropolitan area with the South Coast and South Central Area, its speed is lower than that of the Gyeongbu Line, resulting in a large transportation gap between regions. In particular, it was requested that regional characteristics, such as tourism demand in the Yeosu and Suncheon areas and increased demand due to integrated operation of KTX and SRT, be sufficiently reflected in the preliminary evaluation.
Governor Kim said, “The launch of the integrated special city and the Jeolla Line high-speed rail project are key tasks for balanced national development and securing regional growth engines,” and “active interest and support from the government is needed.”
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