Vice Minister of Economy and Finance: "Three Additional Global Innovation Zones to Be Designated This Year"

2024 Sido Economic Council
"Incentives for Local Governments with Excellent Inflation Control"

The Ministry of Economy and Finance will actively develop four areas?Busan, Gangwon, Chungbuk, and Jeonnam?as 'Global Innovation Special Zones' this year and designate three additional new zones.

On the 25th, Kim Byung-hwan, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, announced this during the '2024 Provincial Economic Council' held at the Government Seoul Office with deputy heads of local governments and related agencies nationwide.

Vice Minister Kim stated, "Based on the '4+3 Super Metropolitan Area Development Plan' prepared last October to foster key regions, we plan to establish a detailed implementation plan by March this year." He also clearly stated the intention to designate three new zones this year in addition to the four areas selected as global innovation special zones last year.

Kim Byunghwan, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, attended the Emergency Economic Vice Ministers' Meeting and the Price-Related Vice Ministers' Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 5th, making recent remarks related to prices. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

He also shared the government's policy direction to enhance regional economic dynamism and revive areas experiencing population decline. Vice Minister Kim said, "To actively respond to the crisis of population decline in regions, we have prepared the 'Three-Project Revival Plan for Population Declining Areas,' which includes activating second homes, developing tourism infrastructure, and expanding the resident population. Additionally, a special committee to increase the living population within the Local Era Committee will be launched this month to discuss detailed measures."

He also announced plans to comprehensively support the revitalization of construction investment, including establishing a regional revitalization investment fund worth 300 billion KRW this year to supply jobs.

Vice Minister Kim emphasized, "We will expand the advance payment limit for construction projects such as roads and railways to 100%, and in the first half of this year, we will concentrate on executing 65% centrally and 60% locally, making the public sector a catalyst for the recovery of the construction industry."

Furthermore, he announced that public utility fees at the local level will be frozen in the first half of this year to aid livelihood recovery. Vice Minister Kim said, "We will maintain the freeze on local public utility fees in the first half and continue to provide incentives such as special grants and balanced national accounts to excellent local governments. We will also expand the number of 'Good Price Businesses' from about 7,000 to over 10,000 and newly support 3 billion KRW for delivery fees on private delivery apps."

Through these measures, the goal is to achieve the inflation target of around 2% early in the first half of this year. In addition, ahead of the Lunar New Year, the central and local governments will operate a comprehensive price countermeasure situation room and focus on cracking down on market-disturbing activities such as price gouging and mixed sales.