Jo Ok-hyeon, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member, "We Must Correct the Tilted Balanced Development"

Jo Ok-hyun, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Mokpo 2), called for strategic industry planning that considers balanced development within the province during the first Economic, Tourism, and Culture Committee business report session of the 383rd Jeonnam Provincial Assembly temporary session on the 22nd.

According to Assemblyman Jo Ok-hyun, as of the end of March 2024, the scale of public projects promoted by the Strategic Industry Bureau this year to build Jeonnam's industrial base totaled 567 billion KRW (24 projects), with the eastern region accounting for 276.7 billion KRW (11 projects), the central region 204.6 billion KRW (8 projects), and the western region 85.7 billion KRW (5 projects), revealing a significant disparity among regions.

As of 2021, Jeonnam's regional gross domestic product was 88.4 trillion KRW, with the eastern region accounting for 60% and the southwestern region 18%.

Jo Ok-hyun, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

Of the approximately 1.8 million population, 790,000 reside in the eastern region and 450,000 in the western region, showing a large population gap between east and west due to industry policies skewed toward the eastern region.

Assemblyman Jo Ok-hyun pointed out, “There is a large disparity between east and west in the projects and budgets promoted by the Strategic Industry Bureau, which is responsible for Jeonnam's future food sources. While the government is actively pursuing national policies for balanced development, Jeonnam also needs to implement policies that consider balanced development within the province.”

He added, “It is a serious self-contradiction that Jeonnam Province, which advocates for national land balanced development to the central government, has failed to achieve regional balanced development within the province. In preparation for Jeonnam's polarization and population extinction, it is urgent for the Strategic Industry Bureau, which plans Jeonnam's future industries, to consider coexistence and mutual development.”