"This is very interesting. But there's one thing I'm a bit disappointed about — why isn't my hometown Gyeongbuk included in the 'half-price travel' regions? Cheongnyangsan is wonderful, and places like Juwangsan too…."
President Lee Jae-myung raised the question at a Cabinet meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday, after receiving a briefing from Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young on plans for the so-called "half-price travel" pilot program, a regional tourism subsidy initiative. Lee pointed out that some regions had been left out, raising expectations that the program will be significantly expanded.
Minister Choi reported that the government had originally planned to support 20 regions this year but only 16 local governments applied due to the burden of matching funds. "We will first support these 16 areas in the first half and open additional applications for four more in the second half. We prioritized areas with sufficient budget capacity," Choi said.
The 16 selected destinations are: ▲ Gangwon Province — Pyeongchang-gun, Yeongwol-gun, Hoengseong-gun ▲ Chungcheongbuk-do — Jecheon-si ▲ Jeollabuk-do — Gochang-gun ▲ Jeollanam-do — Gangjin-gun, Yeonggwang-gun, Haenam-gun, Goheung-gun, Wando-gun, Yeongam-gun ▲ Gyeongsangnam-do — Miryang-si, Hadong-gun, Hapcheon-gun, Geochang-gun, Namhae-gun. At the provincial level, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do were notably absent.
Under the program, the central government contributes 300 million won per region while each local government matches it with 700 million won, creating a 1 billion won operating fund per site. Although the program ultimately benefits local areas through central government support, the 70% local funding share means municipalities lacking the administrative and fiscal capacity cannot afford to apply.
Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul reported that "Gyeongsangbuk-do and Andong-si — the president's hometown — did not submit applications. So I told them to make sure they apply next time." Kwon himself is also from Andong.
