Woo Sang-ho Leads Call for Balanced Growth Across Four Special Self-Governing Cities and Provinces

[Financial News, Chuncheon = Reporter Kim Ki-seop] Woo Sang-ho, Governor of Gangwon State, has stepped forward on behalf of the four special self-governing cities and provinces to urge the government to provide practical support for balanced regional development.
The Korea Special Self-Governing Cities and Provinces Administrative Council, chaired by Woo as its representative president, held its first regular meeting of 2026 on the morning of the 26th at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building and adopted a joint statement calling for government support for Gangwon State, Jeju, Sejong and Jeonbuk. The meeting was attended by Wi Seong-gon, Governor of Jeju Province, Cho Sang-ho, Mayor of Sejong City, and Lee Won-taek, Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, as co-chairs.
This meeting, hosted by Gangwon State as the representative chair, was the first time the four special self-governing cities and provinces had gathered in one place since the launch of the ninth local administration. Participants agreed to strengthen cooperation among the regions and create a new turning point for balanced growth together.
In its statement, the council said South Korea is moving beyond a Seoul metropolitan area-centered one-pole structure and into a new era of balanced development. It added that genuine national balance must be achieved based on each region's characteristics and potential. The statement called for balanced development policies in which the five major regions and the three special regions grow together rather than compete, stronger support suited to special self-governing status through authority transfers, fiscal backing, regulatory reform and expanded special provisions, and the swift enactment of the Special Administrative Capital Act to complete the administrative capital. It stressed that the act should be passed within this year, as it is the starting point for national balanced growth and local decentralization.
Woo raised concerns that the government's Five-Major-Regions and Three-Special-Regions policy is leaning too heavily toward the five mega-regions, leaving the three special regions behind. He said, "If the focus is placed only on the five major regions, the special self-governing cities and provinces will inevitably be left out." He added, "Only when the three special regions are given bold support and authority comparable to the five major regions can true balanced development be achieved."
Under the council's operating plan for this year, it will jointly participate in the Expo for Local Era in December and hold a forum on special self-governing development strategies. As the representative chair, Gangwon State plans to lead this cooperation and broaden public consensus on the need for national balanced development centered on the special self-governing cities and provinces.

[email protected] Kim Ki-seop Reporter