The Empowered Regional Balanced Development Special Committee Enhances Local Autonomy Policy Implementation Power

Yoon Elected President's Commitment to Regional Development Plays a Role
Emphasizes Special Committee's Importance in First Meeting as Well

The plan to elevate the Chairperson of the Regional Balanced Development Committee to a Deputy Prime Minister level was persuasively discussed, partly due to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's strong commitment to regional development. President-elect Yoon personally attended the first meeting of the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee and emphasized that national development ultimately depends on regional development, demonstrating his strong will for regional progress. He also stated, "I will run the new government with the motto of the 'era of regions'." Since regional balanced development has become a major task in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee believes that ‘strengthening the committee’s authority’ is a priority to implement key policies.

According to the transition team on the 29th, President-elect Yoon’s determination was fully reflected within the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee. Kim Byung-joon, Chairperson of the committee, said at the plenary meeting the previous afternoon, "If you ask what kind of government the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is, it is a government that opens the era of regionalization." It is also known that President-elect Yoon emphasized the importance of the special committee to its members during the first meeting. The fact that the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee was added to the transition team’s organization for the first time in history also proves President-elect Yoon’s commitment. Because of this, there is a heavy responsibility to achieve regional balanced development, which the previous government failed to accomplish over 20 years. In particular, there is no disagreement that the status of the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee must be elevated for the ‘era of regions’ under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.

To realize this, various ideas such as elevating the committee to a Deputy Prime Minister-level organization and establishing a dedicated ministry have been discussed. A representative of the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee explained, "Until now, the Regional Balanced Development Committee was directly under the president but was only an advisory body, so there were no achievements. There is a proposal to transform it into an administrative committee equivalent to a ministry, and since coordination with various ministries is necessary, there is also a proposal to establish a higher-level Deputy Prime Minister-level National Balanced Development Office. Therefore, various restructuring plans will be reviewed." The ‘administrative committee’ plan refers to the concept of a ‘consensus committee’ with the character of a ministry, but reorganized into an executive agency with government ministry-level enforcement power. In addition, there is also an idea to establish a ‘Deputy Prime Minister-level’ National Balanced Development Office, which is a concept higher than a ministry.

If the Chairperson of the Regional Balanced Development Committee is elevated to Deputy Prime Minister level, the status of the special committee is expected to change. In past administrations, Deputy Prime Ministers for Unification, Education, Social Affairs, and Science were created and then abolished, but no head of an agency overseeing regional balance has ever been granted Deputy Prime Minister status. If the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee is elevated in this administration, it will be guaranteed independence in formulating and implementing regional balanced development policies and will be able to drive policy initiatives. Elevating the organization is also essential to fulfill the pledges President-elect Yoon emphasized during his candidacy. There are many challenges to be addressed. During his candidacy, President-elect Yoon proposed establishing a second presidential office in Sejong, attracting the Busan Expo, fostering regional universities, and establishing an Aerospace Administration as part of his regional balanced development pledges. Numerous issues require coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. A senior official of the Regional Balanced Development Special Committee said, "If a ministry is to be created, it must go through legislation, but considering the current situation of a National Assembly with a minority ruling party, this will be taken into account when concretizing the plan."

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