President Lee Jae-myung told the country's provincial governors and metropolitan mayors on the 26th that diversifying South Korea's strategic industries into multiple regional hubs, symbolized by three mega projects, is "the key to opening an era of growth for all." He also called balanced national development "an essential strategy for South Korea's survival" and urged central and local governments to work as "one team."
Lee presided over the 10th Central-Local Government Cooperation Meeting at Cheong Wa Dae that day to discuss regional development strategies. It was the first gathering of central government officials and local governments elected for the ninth term, drawing 16 provincial governors and metropolitan mayors, including Park Chan-dae, the mayor of Incheon and chair of the Governors Association of Korea. The meeting was the first in nine months, following the previous one in November last year.
Lee said the starting point of every major problem South Korea faces is severe imbalance across the national territory. "The efficiency of the country as a whole is declining, and national competitiveness is being eroded," he said. As a remedy, he pointed to fostering strategic industries, including the three mega projects. "We must grow industries and jobs around the five poles and three special zones, and spare no effort in supporting improvements to living conditions such as housing, education and welfare," Lee said. He added that "no task can be accomplished by the central government alone," describing central and local governments as "partners and a community of shared destiny that together carry the mission of our time — improving people's lives and sustaining the nation's development."
Local government heads discussed growth strategies based on their regions' conditions and strengths. Woo Sang-ho, governor of Gangwon State, said, "Since SK promised to come to Gangwon, the eyes of young people in the province have been shining." He also asked the Ministry of National Defense to step in, saying, "We want to build community-participation renewable energy facilities in the border areas, but the question is who will remove the landmines and who will pay for it." Lee Cheol-woo, governor of North Gyeongsang Province, said, "In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, what people will do is the food industry," and asked the government to "consider North Gyeongsang when relocating the Korean Food Promotion Institute out of the capital region."
In closing, Lee said, "There are cases where our party affiliations or political positions differ, but it does not change the fact that we are public officials who must work for the better lives of the people and the future of this country."
Four reports were presented at the meeting: central-local cooperation measures for the ninth elected local government term, by Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung; measures to promote locally led growth, by Office for Government Policy Coordination head Lim Ki-geun; measures to foster regional growth engines linked to the three mega projects, by Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jung-kwan; and fiscal investment directions for balanced regional growth, by Budget and Planning Minister Park Hong-keun. On regional growth engines, the industry ministry said it would draw a new industrial map through a package of seven policy supports covering finance, funding, taxation, regulation, technology, talent and infrastructure.
