Yoon: "Regional Balanced Development Faces Limits When Concentrated... Must Use National Land Densely" (Comprehensive)

Yoon Chairs Central-Local Cooperation Meeting... Urges Response to Regional Extinction and Revitalization of Local Economy
Government and Local Governments Promote 'Prosperous Korea Everywhere' by Enhancing Regional Competitiveness
Discusses Five Agendas Including Decentralization and Incentives... Requests Support for Hosting 'World Expo'

President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized regional balanced development to the 16 provincial governors nationwide on the 27th, stating, "There are limits to development in a concentrated state. To increase our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and make a definite leap forward, we must use all of our national territory thoroughly without exception."

On the same day, President Yoon presided over the 5th Central-Local Cooperation Meeting at the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, where he listened to local opinions on the crisis of regional extinction. The Central-Local Cooperation Meeting was established to promote cooperation between the central government and local governments and to deliberate on the development of local autonomy and balanced regional development.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the 5th Central-Local Cooperation Meeting held at the Gyeongsangbuk-do Provincial Office in Andong, Gyeongbuk, on the afternoon of the 27th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Before the main meeting, he requested the provinces and cities to unite their capabilities to attract the 2030 Busan World Expo, which is just a month away. He also mentioned the importance of regional balanced development and urged in-depth discussions to respond to the crisis of regional extinction and to revitalize the local economy.

He continued, "For companies to come into the region, residential infrastructure including complex cultural spaces is important," highlighting education and healthcare as key elements. President Yoon said, "The government is doing its best to diversify education and expand essential regional healthcare." He particularly emphasized, "We mention regional balance, but why is balanced regional development important? It is because there are limits to development in a concentrated state." President Yoon added, "To increase our GDP and make a definite leap forward, we must use all of our national territory thoroughly without exception."

At the meeting, a total of five agenda items encompassing local autonomy and balanced development were discussed. First, through agenda items related to local autonomy such as the expansion of local organizational rights and strengthening of local legislative rights, the establishment of an institutional foundation was discussed to enable local governments to implement policies for the local era based on autonomy and responsibility. Additionally, through agenda items related to balanced development such as opportunity development zones, discussions continued on government support systems, including incentive measures to induce large-scale local investments.

In the face of the crisis of regional extinction, where the total fertility rate has hit a record low and young people and companies are leaving the regions, efforts and responses by local governments to address this were also mentioned. Participants shared excellent cases by region and jointly sought strategies to effectively overcome the crisis of regional extinction.

President Yoon has consistently managed the Central-Local Cooperation Meeting. It is effectively a "second Cabinet meeting," where the highest decision-makers of the central and local governments gather to deliberate policies on the development of local autonomy and regional balanced development.

At the previous meeting, the authority to lift development restrictions on non-capital areas (Greenbelt) was expanded. This was the beginning of the "local era restructuring" for balanced regional development, aiming to increase the self-reliance of local governments and open the full-fledged local era. At the first meeting in October last year, President Yoon promised to regularize this meeting to be held quarterly, emphasizing that "the core of the local system is the creation of quality local jobs," and to develop it into a major platform for national governance through regional rotation hosting.