President Lee: "We cannot scatter the second round of public institution relocations... We should concentrate them as much as possible"

According to The Financial News, President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea said on the 13th, in relation to the second round of public institution relocations, that "this is not a situation where we can just scatter them around," and outlined a plan to concentrate them as much as possible. He stressed that balanced regional development is a matter of national survival, and argued that instead of spreading institutions evenly across the country, the government should focus energy on key regional hubs.
President Lee made these remarks at a town hall meeting for North Chungcheong Province held at the Cheongju Osco Convention Center. He was responding to questions about the plan for the second phase of relocating public institutions to the provinces, whether non–Innovation City areas would be eligible, and how the government would consider relatively neglected areas such as the southern and northern parts of North Chungcheong Province.
President Lee said, "From the perspective of each region, when it comes to the second phase of public institution relocations, people will naturally say, 'Why not us?' If we try to be fair and equal to everyone, we end up having no choice but to disperse them everywhere like scattering seeds." He continued, "However, the issue of redistributing the national territory and achieving balanced development in the Republic of Korea is tied to the country's survival, so this is not a situation where we can just scatter them around indiscriminately."
He went on, "We need to gather enough energy to generate growth momentum in each region, like building up a campfire," adding, "If you divide the firewood fairly, putting one log here and one log there, you end up in a situation where you cannot actually use it."
President Lee also pointed out the limitations of the first round of public institution relocations. "In the first phase, we relocated many public institutions across the country because people kept saying, 'Give us one here too,' so they became overly dispersed," he said. "Even in the provinces, you often see one or two public institutions sitting on their own, not integrating with the local community and failing to serve as an energy source that attracts activity to the surrounding area."
He then stressed, "For the second round of public institution relocations, we should concentrate them as much as possible," and added, "For the country to survive, regional centers must emerge. Those centers should not merely scrape by with government support, but instead gather energy, grow autonomously, and spread that growth to neighboring areas."
President Lee also made it clear that policy outcomes must take precedence over political interests. "If we say, 'Here as well, and here as well, and here as well,' that may help win votes," he said. "But the problem is that, in the end, this leads to a situation where we produce very little in terms of real results. If we fail to create changes that people can actually feel, that is ultimately a kind of failure."
He added, "This administration's policy is more likely to focus on concentration rather than dividing institutions among many different places," and explained, "The regional integration legislation will likely include a provision that gives priority in the second round of public institution relocations."
Regarding how institutions would be allocated within North Chungcheong Province, he leaned toward a layout centered on the existing Innovation City. "North Chungcheong Province already has an Innovation City," President Lee noted. "If you imagine whether we should concentrate energy there so it can spread to the surrounding areas, or instead place one institution each in scattered county-level areas in the eastern part of the province, it seems clear that we cannot really choose the latter approach."
At the same time, he said, "We are not going to pour absolutely everything into that one place, so please do not worry too much," and added, "Please understand that we have this kind of basic concept in mind regarding the second round of public institution relocations."
west@fnnews.com Reporter Seong Seok-woo Reporter