Prime Minister Han Chairs First Meeting on National Land Transformation

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook chaired the government-wide council on national land transformation for the first time on the 1st, stressing close cooperation between central and local governments and saying the initiative has entered a full implementation phase.

Speaking at the fourth meeting of the council at the Government Complex Seoul, Han said local governments should lead development strategies for each region. "Balanced growth led by regions can be achieved only when each area draws up plans suited to its own conditions and the central government actively supports them," she said. A national land transformation strategy and regional growth engines were unveiled at a central-local government cooperation meeting chaired by the president on the 26th of last month.

"The central government will push ahead with the national land transformation strategy at speed, based on large-scale corporate investment including mega projects, while local governments should flesh out and implement development strategies for each region," Han said. "It is time to transform not only regional industrial ecosystems but living conditions as a whole, including housing, welfare, education and culture."

On support for flagship national universities, Han said regions can grow only if they train the talent companies need locally and keep that talent in the area. "Selected universities will receive package support covering signature colleges, AI education and research, and shared university programs," she said. She called on the universities to nurture core talent capable of driving regional growth engines and industries and to take responsibility as hubs for building regional industrial ecosystems.