South Chungcheong Governor Park Soo-hyun: "The National Information Resources Service Headquarters Should Be Established in South Chungcheong Province"

[Financial News Hongseong=Reporter Kim Won-jun] South Chungcheong Province has formally announced its bid to host the headquarters of the National Information Resources Service, the core control tower of the national information system, and has begun persuading the central government.
Park Soo-hyun, governor of South Chungcheong Province, met with Yun Ho-jung, minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS), at the Government Complex Seoul on the 16th. He proposed three major regional priorities: establishing the National Information Resources Service headquarters in South Chungcheong Province, creating a substantive administrative and financial support system for the Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance, and preparing measures to compensate for reductions in local allocation tax.
Park emphasized that the selection of a new site for the National Information Resources Service must achieve both stable management of national information resources and balanced regional development. In particular, he highlighted South Chungcheong Province’s abundant power, water resources and workforce—the so-called “three-power innovation” infrastructure—as well as its experience hosting disaster recovery centers, arguing that the province is the optimal location for a national data hub.
Park explained the rationale for attracting the facility, saying, "South Chungcheong Province has a robust power grid among the nation’s best, making it possible to establish real-time redundancy for core national systems. It is also safe from natural disasters and offers excellent living conditions."
He also asked the government to support the Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance, the nation’s first special local government involving Daejeon Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, North Chungcheong Province and South Chungcheong Province, so that it can become a substantive supra-metropolitan administrative body. Park proposed transferring national administrative functions through the enactment of the Special Act on the Establishment and Support of the Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance and including special local governments among the recipients of local allocation tax.
He also pointed out concerns that local allocation tax could be reduced during the government’s creation of a future response fund. He urged the government to establish clear compensation measures for any reduction in the tax so that institutional reforms would not undermine the stability of local finances.
Park called for active government support, saying, "Establishing the National Information Resources Service headquarters in South Chungcheong Province is not merely a matter of regional interest. It is an essential task for balanced national development and the sustainable growth of the Republic of Korea."
Meanwhile, South Chungcheong Province is regarded as an optimal location for operating high-power, high-density artificial intelligence (AI) data centers because it is home to the country’s largest-scale thermal power generation and renewable energy production facilities and has abundant water resources. Building on these locational advantages, the provincial government plans to secure a central government data hub and accelerate the creation of an advanced AI industry ecosystem in the region.
[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter