A Race to Secure the Second Wave of Public Institution Relocations: Jeju Launches a Province-Wide Signature Drive to Attract Them

【Financial News, Jeju = Reporter Jeong Yong-bok】 While the government has yet to finalize its second-round plan for relocating public institutions to regional areas, Jeju Island has entered the competition early with a province-wide signature campaign. Its strategy is to identify public institutions that can be tied to Jeju's industries, such as climate and energy, primary industries, tourism, and culture, and then use that case to persuade the government and the National Assembly of local support.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 26th, the province has been running a province-wide signature campaign since the 21st, centered on township, town, and neighborhood community centers, as well as related organizations and civic groups across Jeju, to urge the relocation of public institutions to Jeju in the second round.
The Agricultural Organizations Council also plans to collect signatures from residents and tourists at major locations, including Nonghyup Hanaro Mart. It will also ask Jeju-area lawmakers, honorary residents, Jeju natives living outside the province, and organizations and civic groups to take part.
Before the government's second-round relocation plan is finalized, the signature sheets will be delivered to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other relevant ministries, the National Assembly, and the public institutions Jeju hopes to attract.
The nationwide competition to attract institutions is already heating up even before the government has finalized its relocation targets. On the 20th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the institutions to be included in the second round of public relocations and the announcement schedule have not yet been decided.
Jeju has already broadened its pool of potential targets. In 2023, when it drew up its strategy to promote the relocation of public institutions from the Seoul metropolitan area to Jeju, the province identified 28 institutions in five functional groups, including KAC and KRA, as its target pool.
The key criterion is whether an institution can be linked to Jeju's industries. The idea is to attach public institution functions to areas where Jeju has strengths, such as climate and energy transition, primary industries, tourism, and culture, in order to secure both a rationale for relocation and a broader economic spillover effect.
In particular, Jeju is making a strong push to attract KRA. In May, Jeju Island formally proposed to the KRA chairman that the authority relocate to Jeju, and later raised the need for public institution relocation to Jeju during meetings with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Jeju is using the presence of Jeju horses, Seoul Race Park, and the horse industry special zone as part of its case for attracting KRA. Its policy is not to treat relocation as merely a change in headquarters address, but to design it as a way to connect the region's industries with research, talent, and businesses.
Going forward, it will be important to see which institutions the government includes in the relocation plan, and how it evaluates regional placement criteria and links to institutional functions. For Jeju, another challenge is how to offset the geographic disadvantage of being an island far from the Seoul metropolitan area by improving living conditions and preparing support measures for employees. Concrete support measures covering housing, education, and transportation for staff at relocating institutions could become a variable in the actual selection process.
Jeju Island plans to further define the connection points between the functions of each target institution and local industries, while also preparing cooperative projects and administrative and financial support measures to be implemented after relocation.
Yang Je-yoon, Director General for Planning and Coordination of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, said, "Each and every signature from residents will help show the government and the National Assembly why Jeju needs to attract the second round of public institutions." He added, "We will focus the provincial government's capabilities on persuading the National Assembly and relevant ministries so that the meaning behind the signatures is reflected in the government's relocation plan, and on attracting the public institutions Jeju needs."


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter