President-elect Yoon to Begin Regional Tour Next Week to Hear Public Sentiment... A Move to 'Keep Promises'

Yoon Attends Jeju 4·3 Memorial Ceremony, Visits Daegu and Gyeongbuk on Nov 11-12
Focus on Regional Balanced Development Policy Promised During Presidential Campaign
Special Committee Reviews Yoon's Pledge Implementation Plans and Current Issues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol will tour local regions starting next week to personally oversee plans for balanced regional development. This move is intended to fulfill his 'keeping promises' pledge made during the 20th presidential election, when balanced regional development became a key issue, by visiting regions directly to hear their voices.

According to Yoon's camp on the 10th, the president-elect will begin his regional tour with visits to Daegu and Gyeongbuk on the 11th and 12th of this month. This is to personally address the issue of widening development gaps and regional population extinction, which have become major concerns in balanced regional development. Yoon's team explained this as "the president-elect's determination to seek answers on-site." He plans to sequentially visit other regions such as Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong), Honam, Chungcheong, and Gangwon over the course of a month before his inauguration.

Yoon Seok-yeol became the first conservative party president to appear at the Jeju 4·3 Memorial Ceremony. During his presidential campaign, on February 5th, Yoon promised at a rally in Jeju, "If elected president, I will attend the Jeju 4·3 Memorial Ceremony as president-elect," and pledged to ensure "appropriate compensation for the victims."

Plans are also being considered for Yoon to attend the May 18 Democratic Uprising Memorial Ceremony after his inauguration. In February, Yoon visited the May 18 Democratic Cemetery to apologize for controversies surrounding his defense of Chun Doo-hwan, but his visit was canceled due to opposition from civic groups. Yoon, who pledged to include the spirit of May 18 in the preamble of the constitution, is known to have expressed his intention to attend the May 18 Memorial Ceremony during meetings with Honam figures. His camp stated, "There is absolutely no reason for him not to attend."

Attention is also focused on the implementation of balanced regional development policies that Yoon pledged during his presidential campaign. The Presidential Transition Committee has formed a Special Committee on Balanced Regional Development to review regional issues. The committee is initially examining regional common pledges such as the linkage and promotion of five major metropolitan mega-cities and smart small and medium-sized cities, the creation of global innovation zones by region, the dawn of a local science and technology sovereignty era, fostering local universities, and transportation innovation. Additionally, they are reviewing plans including the establishment of a second office in Sejong City, development of the Saemangeum area, hosting the Busan Expo, relocating the Korea Development Bank and Export-Import Bank, and moving the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

At a meeting with the council of governors from 17 cities and provinces on the 6th, Yoon emphasized, "I believe the central government's role is to support all regions in finding their own development engines," adding, "I have always thought that three things are fundamental in a balanced regional development strategy: fair accessibility, strengthening fiscal authority, and allowing regions to choose and decide on their specialized industries themselves. For this, smooth communication and cooperation between the central and local governments will be important."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.