Only 18 Cases of Metropolitan Companies Relocating to Other Regions in Six Years

Kim Won: "Supporting the 'Five Regions, Three Special Zones' Strategy with Tax and Location Incentives"

Won Kim, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The Local Investment Promotion Subsidy Program, which was introduced to alleviate overcrowding in the Seoul metropolitan area and promote balanced regional development, has been found to deliver limited tangible results.

According to data submitted by Assemblyman Won Kim of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Mokpo, South Jeolla Province) from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the number of cases supported by the Local Investment Promotion Subsidy Program decreased from 72 in 2020 to 54 in 2024. As of August this year, only 23 cases had been supported, with the total expected to reach just around 50 by the end of the year.

Among these, there were only 18 cases of companies relocating from the Seoul metropolitan area to other regions over the past six years. By year, there were 8 cases in 2020, 1 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 2 in 2023, 1 in 2024, and 1 as of August 2025, indicating that the program has effectively lost its intended function.

Notably, regions such as South Jeolla, Gwangju, Daegu, Ulsan, and North Gyeongsang recorded zero cases of relocation from the metropolitan area, while only a few regions, including Busan, North Jeolla, Jeju, and Sejong, had one case each.

In addition, most of the subsidies were concentrated on investments for the establishment or expansion of local companies. The number of cases supporting new or expanded facilities decreased from 64 in 2020 to 53 in 2024, with more than 90 percent of all support focused on this area.

Assemblyman Kim emphasized, "To realize the 'Five Regions, Three Special Zones' national balanced development strategy promoted by the Lee Jaemyung administration, practical measures are needed to break the dominance of the Seoul metropolitan area." He added, "It is essential to encourage companies to relocate to other regions by significantly expanding location incentives, such as tax reductions and land provision."

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