[Reporter’s Notebook] Will the ‘59-Year Local Boy’ Minister Shift the Center of Gravity Even 1cm?

First Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport from a Regional University
A Leader Who Has Experienced 59 Years of Local Decline Not Just as Statistics, but as Real Life
High Hopes for Policies Rooted in "Untranslated Understanding of the Provinces"

"As far as I know, I am the first Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to come from a non-metropolitan region."

Kim Yoonduk, the newly appointed Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, responded this way when asked during his confirmation hearing about the significance of his nomination. He added, "Most previous ministers have been from the Seoul metropolitan area, but I have spent my career in the provinces," emphasizing that his appointment could serve as an opportunity to demonstrate the government's commitment to balanced regional development.

When Minister Kim referred to being "from the provinces," he was not simply talking about his place of birth. There have been ministers before whose hometowns were outside the metropolitan area. However, no one whose entire life has been deeply rooted in a non-metropolitan region has ever served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Since the ministry was renamed, none of the eight ministers have even graduated from a regional university. Kim was born and raised in North Jeolla, graduated from a local university, served as a local council member, and was elected three times as a lawmaker representing his region. Kim, who has spent 59 years as a "local boy," was fully aware of this symbolic significance and did not try to hide it.

In fact, the most frequently repeated request during his confirmation hearing?from both ruling and opposition parties?was, "As someone truly from the provinces, please dedicate yourself sincerely to balanced development." Fellow lawmakers noted that he understands the realities of provincial life, such as having to start traveling at dawn just to get to Seoul, and that he has heard residents' frustrations with inadequate medical and educational infrastructure more closely than anyone else. There was a belief that he is a politician who has experienced the threat of "local extinction" not just as a statistic, but through his neighbors.

South Korea's land policies have been centered on the Seoul metropolitan area. Major national issues such as stabilizing housing prices and expanding transportation networks have mostly focused on the capital region. While tens of trillions of won were poured into the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX) lines, drawing nationwide attention, rural areas saw their few daily bus routes discontinued and patients forced to travel for hours due to the lack of local hospitals. While new towns were being discussed for those working in Seoul, old city centers in the provinces turned into rows of empty houses and ghostly shopping districts.

This imbalance is not just a problem for the provinces; it has become a source of instability undermining the entire country. The instability of housing prices in the metropolitan area, the housing crisis for young people, the outflow of population from the provinces, and the problem of unsold apartments in regional cities all stem from the same root: the overconcentration of the capital region. Balanced regional development is not simply about helping the provinces; it is also a strategy for ensuring the sustainability of the Seoul metropolitan area.

It is difficult for a single minister to change the inertia and structure of policy overnight. However, change begins with small steps. The high expectations for Minister Kim come from the fact that he is someone who can understand provincial life "without translation," beyond statistics and reports. After his term ends, it is hoped that he will be remembered not just as a "minister from North Jeolla," but as the first Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport who shifted the center of gravity of South Korea, even by just one centimeter, from the metropolitan area to the provinces.