Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Monday that the government would "mobilize all available policy tools to actively support corporate investment in order to foster the growth engines of the '5 Poles, 3 Special Zones' strategy," adding that it would "sharply expand support for region-led research and development (R&D) and also increase investment in growth engine industry startups."
Kim made the remarks at the third Pan-Government Council for National Spatial Transformation, held at the Government Complex Seoul that day.
"The National Spatial Transformation project is not simply about evenly distributing the central government's resources by region," Kim said. "It is a national strategic task to change the national structure centered on a single pole in the greater Seoul area and to build a foundation on which regions can grow and settle on their own. In the second half of the year, major large-scale projects related to locally led growth and a balanced national structure—such as the announcement of growth engines prepared by the government during the local election period, large-scale corporate investment, and the second relocation of public institutions—are set to be pursued in earnest."
Kim continued, "To foster the '5 Poles, 3 Special Zones' growth engines, we will mobilize all available policy tools to actively support corporate investment." He added, "To promote corporate investment in regions, we will prepare bold fiscal support measures and utilize policy funds such as the National Growth Fund and public financing to ensure sufficient funding."
He stressed, "We will also sharply expand support for region-led research and development (R&D) and increase investment in growth engine industry startups," adding, "We will also ensure that the Mega Special Zone Special Act to back this is enacted within the year."
Kim also said, "To support the '5 Poles, 3 Special Zones' development strategy, we will establish a super-wide-area special agreement system." He noted, "With the revision of the Decentralization and Balanced Development Act on the 2nd, the institutional foundation has been laid, including the creation of a super-wide-area special account and super-wide-area special agreements. Going forward, we will provide support through super-wide-area special agreement meetings between the central and local governments so that local government-led super-wide-area cooperation projects can be pursued in a stable manner."
Kim also said he would dramatically improve local living conditions. "Improving living conditions so that corporate talent can stay and settle in regions is an essential condition," he said. He added, "To help workers at companies and public institutions that relocate to regions settle in a stable manner, we will strengthen education and care systems as well as access to cultural and medical services, and prepare customized support measures tailored to the conditions of each region."
