Prime Minister Kim: Developing Coefficients to Support Companies Relocating Far from the Seoul Metropolitan Area

"Administrative Integration to Be Supported by Committee Under Prime Minister"

Prime Minister Kim Minseok said, "In relation to companies relocating from the Seoul metropolitan area to more distant regions, we are developing, through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, a coefficient that can be reflected in government policy and used to provide additional support to companies."

Attending a parliamentary questioning session at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 9th, Prime Minister Kim explained, "The President has repeatedly stated the principle that the farther a region is from the Seoul metropolitan area, the greater the benefits should be, so that companies can voluntarily choose to relocate."

On the 9th, Prime Minister Kim Minseok is attending and speaking at the government questioning session (politics, diplomacy, unification and security) held at the National Assembly.

He was responding to a question from Joo Ho-young, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, who asked whether the government was making concrete efforts after President Lee Jaemyung mentioned that a system should be legislated to provide weighted support for corporate relocation to regions farther from the Seoul metropolitan area.

Assemblyman Joo explained, "For regions far from Seoul and underdeveloped areas, we need to provide benefits such as inheritance tax and corporate tax incentives so that companies will prefer to move there by their own choice," adding, "The regional ecosystem will not disappear just because a local government head manages to attract one or two companies through personal capability."

Regarding this, Prime Minister Kim pointed out, "The sense of problem, enthusiasm, and determination held by you and the President are almost the same, and the President, if anything, is even more committed." When Assemblyman Joo said, "There has not been a single visible achievement so far," Kim stressed, "Those tangible results will be the decisive difference between the Lee Jaemyung administration and the previous administration."

On the issue of administrative integration of metropolitan local governments, Prime Minister Kim also stated the relevant policy direction, saying, "Immediately after the passage of the (local government integration) bill, we plan to establish a support committee under the Prime Minister, and we will oversee matters in consultation with lawmakers from each region."