[2025 Audit] KDB Policy Funds Concentrated in Seoul Metropolitan Area: "Regional Disparities Must Be Eliminated"

Heon-Seung Lee: "The National Growth Fund Must Ensure Balanced Investment"

It has been revealed that approximately two-thirds of policy fund investments supported by government finances are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area.

According to data submitted by Heon-Seung Lee, a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, to whom the Korea Development Bank provided the information, as of the end of August this year, policy fund investments in the Seoul metropolitan area (Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province) totaled 15.9447 trillion won, accounting for 66% of the total investment amount of 24.2065 trillion won.

Looking at the regional investment status of the New Deal Fund, which was established during the Moon Jae-in administration (2021-2022), three out of the top four investment destinations were in the Seoul metropolitan area. Investments in the metropolitan area totaled 5.9927 trillion won, representing about 70% of the total 8.5709 trillion won. By region, Seoul received the largest share at 3.4756 trillion won (40.6%), followed by Gyeonggi Province with 2.192 trillion won (25.6%), North Gyeongsang Province with 377.6 billion won (4.4%), and Incheon with 325.1 billion won (3.8%). In contrast, Jeju received 17 billion won (0.2%), Gwangju 46.9 billion won (0.5%), Daegu 75.2 billion won (0.9%), and North Jeolla Province 115.4 billion won (1.3%), with other regions remaining around 2% or less.

Heon-Seung Lee, Member of the People Power Party. Office of Heon-Seung Lee

Even after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, when the New Deal Fund was renamed the Innovation Growth Fund (2023-2024), the concentration of investments in the Seoul metropolitan area persisted. For the Innovation Growth Fund, investments in the metropolitan area amounted to 1.1239 trillion won, accounting for 58.7% of the total investment of 1.9162 trillion won. Notably, there were no investments at all in South Jeolla Province or Jeju Island among non-metropolitan regions. By region, Seoul again received the largest share at 705.6 billion won (36.8%), followed by Gyeonggi Province with 415.5 billion won (21.7%), South Chungcheong Province and Sejong City with 150.4 billion won (7.8%), and Daejeon with 74.2 billion won (3.9%). Excluding South Jeolla Province and Jeju Island, investment amounts were also low in Incheon at 2.9 billion won (0.1%), Gangwon Province at 5.9 billion won (0.3%), Daegu at 7 billion won (0.4%), and South Gyeongsang Province at 15.5 billion won (0.8%).

Other funds, such as the Growth Support Fund, Materials-Parts-Equipment Fund, Structural Innovation Fund, and Regional Revitalization Investment Fund, also showed a similar trend, with investments in the Seoul metropolitan area totaling 8.8281 trillion won, or 64.3% of the total investment of 13.7193 trillion won.

Heon-Seung Lee emphasized, "Since government finances are injected into policy funds, investments must be balanced across regions without discrimination." He added, "When operating the recently announced 100 trillion won National Growth Fund under the Lee Jae-myung administration, it is crucial to clearly uphold the principle of balanced regional investment."