DAEGU — Daegu said on the 1st that a record 9.7855 trillion won ($7.1 billion) in central government funding has been included in the 2027 government budget plan. That is 8%, or 721.1 billion won, more than the 9.0644 trillion won the city secured this year.
The Daegu-Gyeongbuk integrated new airport project fell short, however, as the budget left out funding for relocating the military airport and included only 20.2 billion won for civilian airport construction.
Funding was allocated in large amounts for advanced industries including artificial intelligence, robotics, mobility and biotechnology, allowing the city to expand its new-industry ecosystem and strengthen support across the full cycle from technology development to workforce training and corporate assistance.
Among the items included are 64.2 billion won for developing AI transformation technologies at regional hubs, 13.4 billion won for the national robot test field project, 4 billion won for building an AI software verification system for future mobility, and 1.8 billion won for a physical training center for humanoid robots.
Core projects tied to residents' daily life and safety were also reflected, giving the city room to move faster on improving the urban environment. These include 2.4 billion won to diversify water intake sources on the upper Nakdong River, 22 billion won for environmental improvements along the Geumho River, 15 billion won to build public rental housing on the A4 block of Daegu Grand Park, and 8.7 billion won for an integrated response center for water pollution accidents.
For metropolitan transport infrastructure, the government plan includes 15 billion won for the Daegu Industrial Line railway, 45.1 billion won for the No. 4 subway line, 36.8 billion won to ease congestion on Sanghwa-ro in Dalseo District, and 2.7 billion won for an access road to the Geumho Water Polis industrial complex.
The city plans to press its case during parliamentary review for the military airport relocation funding that was left out of the government plan. Because the relocation is a national project directly tied to national security, Daegu's position is to continue persuading the government and the National Assembly to have the state carry out the project and share its cost.
"We will review one by one the projects left out of the government plan, and work as one team with local lawmakers to persuade the standing committees and the budget committee of the National Assembly to secure as large an increase as possible at the parliamentary stage," Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho said.
