Korean gov’t cuts Saemangeum budget by 78% after Jamboree failure

Saemangeum South-North road in Buan-gun, North Jeolla Province.

The South Korean government has decided to reexamine the entire social overhead capital projects for Saemangeum, a reclaimed land in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, following public criticism after the failure to properly host the World Scout Jamboree earlier this month.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on Tuesday, the government will create a task force dedicated to reviewing all of the Saemangeum projects, including airport and railway constructions. The task force will assess feasibility through external expert research and other means.

“We plan to objectively inspect the overall Saemangeum projects, which have been pursued for environmental reasons, to address public doubts,” said Choi Im-rak, head of national and urban land at the ministry, who is leading the task force.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo urged Land Minister Won Hee-ryong to create a new roadmap for Saemangeum‘s development to ensure the proper utilization of the reclaimed land.

According to the Prime Minister’s office, he called for a “big picture for Saemangeum that can serve as a practical catalyst for the North Jeolla Province economy.”

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to clearly reset the objectives at this stage for the Saemangeum projects for economic benefits.

The move comes after public criticisms against the Saemangeum projects following the World Scout Jamboree event earlier this month.

Song Eon-seog, a member of the ruling party and the National Assembly’s budget committee, recently indicated potential scrutiny concerning the budget execution for the Saemangeum projects, criticizing the local government for taking advantage of the budget under the pretext of the international event.

According to Song, the budget allocated for the Saemangeum projects has amounted to 11 trillion won ($8.3 billion), which is more than 200 times the size of the initial infrastructure project budget for the 1991 Goseong Jamboree event, which was 51.3 billion won.

Notable ongoing projects include the new port project, with 3.2 trillion won assigned, the Saemangeum-Jeonju expressway project with 1.92 trillion won, the railway project with 1.33 trillion won, and the international airport project with 807.7 billion won.

Following the inspection, adjustments are expected for some projects.

Particularly, attention is focused on whether the international airport project will be put on hold. The project was initially promoted for the convenience of participants in the Jamboree event, but it has not progressed even after the event ended.

An airport has been wanted for long time in the region.

Earlier, North Jeolla Province pursued an international airport in one of its cities, Gimje, but the project was abandoned in 2008 after a government audit cited exaggerated demand for the project.

According to next year’s budget proposal for the Saemangeum projects announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday, the budget for the Saemangeum projects has been significantly reduced.

The budget allocated for the projects in the proposal is 147.9 billion won, which is a 77.6 percent reduction compared to the government’s request of 662.6 billion won.

Particularly, the budget for international airport-related projects was set at 66 billion won, only 11 percent of the 580 billion won requested by the land ministry. The budget for the Saemangeum-Jeonju Expressway was reduced to 33.4 billion won from 119.1 billion won, and the new port to 43.8 billion won from 167.7 billion won.

North Jeolla Province previously presented a blueprint to establish a logistics system utilizing airports, ports, and railways, and to transform Saemangeum into a global business hub by 2030. However, the budget cuts for the projects may lead to disruptions in key projects, observers noted.