[Editorial] Revitalizing Disappearing Local Regions: The Key Lies in Creating Quality Jobs

On the 8th, President Lee Jae Myung presided over a briefing and discussion session with the Presidential Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy, focused on the theme of the 'Five Regional Hubs and Three Special Zones National Spatial Transformation.' The session sought public input on how to address the decline in population and economic stagnation in non-metropolitan areas due to the concentration in the Greater Seoul area.
Over the past decade, the concentration in the Greater Seoul area has intensified. The proportion of quality jobs increased from 13.8% in 2015 to 20.0% in 2024, with a 5.8 percentage point rise in the Greater Seoul area, while non-metropolitan areas actually saw a decrease. This has widened the labor market gap. Around 70% of R&D spending and personnel are also concentrated in the Greater Seoul area. As a result, both quality jobs and the conditions to create them are heavily centered in the capital region, prompting more young people to leave their hometowns for the Greater Seoul area. In fact, a study found that the income of young people who moved to the capital region increased by 22.8%.
Another issue is housing prices. As the preference for the Greater Seoul area rises, home prices in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province continue to climb, while those in other regions are falling. The gap between those who own homes in the capital region and residents in other areas is widening, leading to record-high asset polarization, not only in income but also in real estate.
The population of the Greater Seoul area, which surpassed that of non-metropolitan areas for the first time in 2020, is expected to account for 52.6% of the total population by 2040. Meanwhile, as more people flock to Seoul, 62 out of the nation’s 229 cities, counties, and districts are now classified as at risk of extinction (with seven in the most severe category).
In response to these circumstances, the government has proposed the 'Five Regional Hubs and Three Special Zones' as a national balanced development strategy. The plan aims to foster four major non-metropolitan hubs—Southeast Region, Daegyeong, Central Region, and Honam—to rival the Greater Seoul area, and to further develop the three special autonomous zones of North Jeolla Province, Gangwon State, and Jeju Island.
The stagnation of local regions can no longer be ignored. The deepening polarization between the capital and non-capital regions hinders national development. It is inefficient to use only a portion of our limited land while people crowd into a few areas. To increase income and achieve national growth, we must make effective use of all available land.
The two pillars of balanced development are jobs and education. If quality jobs are available in local regions, fewer young people will move to the Greater Seoul area. Since the 1950s, the main reason for migration to the capital has been the search for employment. More major industrial complexes should be built in non-metropolitan areas, and companies should be relocated there. Of course, quality housing and infrastructure such as roads must also be provided.
Education is even more important. Bold measures are needed to nurture regional flagship universities into top-tier institutions. Simply aiming to create ten universities on par with Seoul National University (SNU) is not enough. Investment must foster talent and lead to quality employment, which in turn will increase application rates to these universities. Secondary education in local regions is an even bigger issue. Competition is weakening as it falls behind the private education sector in the capital region. Young people must be convinced that, with hard work, they can enter top universities in Seoul even if they live in local regions. Only then will they choose to stay and settle.
Balanced regional development is not as easy as it sounds. It cannot be achieved overnight. It requires time and persistence. Temporary, popularity-driven measures ahead of elections will only lead to repeated failures. Even if it takes time, only thorough debate and bold, national-level policies will open the path to success. It is also essential to analyze why past policies, such as mechanically relocating major public institutions across the country, failed.