Pohang Mayor Lee Gang-deok: "The Solution to National Balanced Development is a True Local Era Led by the Region"

Mayor Lee Meets Woo Dong-gi, Chair of the National Balanced Development Committee

Welcomes Launch of Local Era Committee, Anticipates Region-Led Policies

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang met with Woo Dong-gi, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development, at the Government Seoul Office on the 23rd to discuss policies for balanced national development and to propose local issues.

On the 23rd, Lee Gang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, met with Woo Dong-gi, Chairman of the National Balanced Development Committee, at the Government Seoul Office to discuss and propose local issues for national balanced development.

Following the passage of the Special Act on Local Autonomy Decentralization and Regional Balanced Development by the National Assembly in May, the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development will be expanded into the Local Era Committee starting in July, and the government’s regional balanced development projects, including Opportunity Development Zones and the relocation of public institutions, are expected to be actively promoted.

Accordingly, during the meeting, Mayor Lee expressed concerns about the shortcomings of the balanced development policies as experienced locally and urged Chairman Woo to open a genuine local era led by the regions.

Mayor Lee emphasized that the population imbalance between the metropolitan area and non-metropolitan areas has become excessive due to policies centered on the metropolitan area, which has led to serious disparities in all fields including economy, culture, education, and healthcare, putting local areas at risk of extinction.

He continued by stating that although the government has invested significant budgets to address these issues, the local areas have not felt tangible effects due to policy formulation led by the central government, limitations in local government authority, and the lack of cooperative governance between central and local governments.

Mayor Lee expressed hope that the launch of the Local Era Committee in July will mark the beginning of a true local era, and he requested the committee’s active role to ensure that innovative decentralization and expansion of autonomous financial resources strengthen local government autonomy and promote investment in non-metropolitan areas through proper designation of Opportunity Development Zones and relocation of public institutions tailored to regional characteristics.

In particular, regarding the Opportunity Development Zone system, he emphasized that since the law was amended to allow some metropolitan areas to apply during the legislative process, selecting zones solely based on corporate investment demand could disadvantage local areas, so zones should be designated in accordance with the law’s original intent to benefit the regions.

Mayor Lee also stated that the policy on relocating public institutions should be pursued in a way that considers regional characteristics and industries, enabling public institutions and local areas to create synergy together. He added that Pohang is currently conducting a feasibility study to identify suitable public institutions that can coexist and develop mutually with the region’s new industries and advanced R&D infrastructure.

Along with this, Mayor Lee explained Pohang’s local issues for balanced regional development and requested active support from the Local Era Committee.

First, he asserted that Pohang must be selected for the secondary battery specialized complex, which is scheduled for final announcement in July, and expressed his ambition to establish an integrated production complex for cathode materials, a core battery component, through designation as a specialized complex to prepare for the expansion of the global electric vehicle market.

He further requested active support for the establishment of POSTECH’s research-oriented medical school to nurture physician-scientists who will lead innovation in the biohealth industry, and emphasized the urgent need for fundamental measures such as establishing a smart hospital linked to the research-oriented medical school, given the poor medical services in Gyeongbuk from the perspective of regional balanced development.

In response, Chairman Woo Dong-gi replied, “As the Local Era Committee integrates functions of local autonomy decentralization and balanced development, it will establish and promote balanced development strategies that suit regional characteristics and are led by the regions.”

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