[2024 Budget] New Establishment of 300 Billion KRW Regional Revitalization Investment Fund

A new 'Regional Revitalization Investment Fund' worth 300 billion KRW will be established to support large-scale projects desired by local areas. The key change is shifting from small-scale, government-led investments to large-scale investments utilizing the private sector.

According to the '2024 Budget Plan' announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the 29th, the newly established Regional Revitalization Investment Fund aims to rapidly promote projects with significant ripple effects on the local economy by leveraging private capital and capabilities. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho stated, "Various projects can be pursued within the scope that does not undermine the fund's purpose and public interest, such as those located in the metropolitan area or gambling-related businesses." He added, "For example, large-scale smart farms, energy convergence clusters, and complex tourism resorts are applicable."

The government and policy financial institutions will establish a parent fund, while local governments and the private sector will form subsidiary funds and promote project financing (PF) through the establishment of special purpose companies (SPCs). Specifically, SPCs composed of private developers and local governments will manage and promote projects, and subsidiary funds, which receive investments from the parent fund, will invest in the projects. The parent fund is scheduled to launch in January next year, with project selection beginning within the first quarter.

To foster university innovation centered on local regions, 2.38 trillion KRW will be invested. To encourage autonomous innovation in universities, the financial support system will shift to a region-led, performance-based approach. Financial authority over universities will be granted to local governments, and 30 regional universities will be selected as Glocal Universities for focused investment. Selected Glocal Universities will receive 100 billion KRW per school from this year through 2026. Additionally, the university capacity evaluation led by the Ministry of Education will be transitioned to a university consortium-led system.

To respond to regional extinction, programs will be developed to remodel vacant houses and closed schools within regions to encourage periodic visits by outsiders. After planning region-customized projects with metropolitan local governments, financial support will be provided upon signing agreements with the central government. The support scale is up to 5 billion KRW per metropolitan local government for a maximum of three years.

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