Promotion of Early Completion of Sejong National Assembly Building and Second Presidential Office
Kim Moonsoo Focuses Campaigning in Anseong, Pyeongtaek, and Other Seoul Metropolitan Areas
Kim Moonsoo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party, on the 26th announced a set of region-specific pledges, including constitutional amendments for local autonomy and the expansion of the Great Train Express (GTX) network.
On the morning of May 26, Kim visited the Chungnam Provincial Party office in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, and unveiled his pledge titled "A New Era for All Regions Nationwide." The initiative aims to achieve balanced development between the Seoul metropolitan area and other regions in response to the growth, integration, and extinction crises facing local areas.
First, Kim plans to pursue constitutional amendments for local autonomy and the transfer of central government authority. The constitution would declare that "the Republic of Korea is a decentralized state," and legislative, fiscal, and planning powers would be transferred to local governments.
He also intends to fully relocate the National Assembly to Sejong City and expedite the completion of the president’s second office. Central administrative agencies currently located in the Seoul metropolitan area, such as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Justice, would also be moved to Sejong City to complete the administrative capital.
Kim announced plans to establish four major metropolitan zones?Chungcheong (Daejeon, Sejong, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong), Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Gwangju-Jeonnam, and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam?and to actively support projects that strengthen self-reliance in these areas. For the three special autonomous zones?Gangwon, Jeonbuk, and Jeju?he pledged to provide financial support and promote specialized development.
He also proposed expanding the GTX network into the major metropolitan zones. In Chungcheong, the GTX would connect the administrative capital to Cheongju Airport; in Daegu-Gyeongbuk, it would link the new inland airport to the East Coast; in Gwangju-Jeonnam, it would connect the innovation city to Muan Airport; and in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region, it would connect the new airport to the industrial belt.
Kim pledged to provide a full tax deduction for donations to the Hometown Love Fund. He also proposed deferring capital gains tax for residents of the Seoul metropolitan area who sell their existing homes and relocate to non-metropolitan regions, provided they reside there for at least 15 years.
To promote the development of regional industries, Kim promised to establish a National AI Supercomputing Center in each major metropolitan hub and to increase the total digital economic output of local regions from 30 trillion won to 50 trillion won by 2030. He also pledged to enact a Special Act for the Development of the Southern Coast, creating a tourism and leisure belt along the southern coast and building integrated coastal and inland transportation networks.
The pledges also include measures to strengthen local healthcare infrastructure. Kim aims to establish medical service delivery systems in each region equivalent to the level of the "Big 5" hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area. He also plans to increase the regional talent recruitment quota for medical, pharmacy, dental, Korean medicine, and nursing schools to 80%.
Afterward, Kim will campaign in the southern Gyeonggi region, including Anseong and Pyeongtaek. He will then travel through Osan and Yongin, followed by intensive campaigning in the Nowon, Dobong, and Gangbuk districts in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul.
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