President Lee Jae Myung received a policy briefing on balanced regional development on Monday, December 8, stressing it as key to sustainable growth. The presidential committee presented a customized strategy to ease concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and foster new growth drivers nationwide. The plan includes five regional hubs and three special self-governing provinces.
President Lee Jae Myung received a policy briefing from the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development at the presidential office in Seoul on December 8, 2025. During the session, Lee stated that "strengthening decentralization, balanced development and local autonomy has become an unavoidable national survival strategy for the Republic of Korea's sustainable growth."
He pointed out that the government's past practice of channeling resources into the Seoul metropolitan area has reached its limit, noting that excessive concentration in the capital region is now undermining the nation's growth potential. "The growth strategy centered on the metropolitan area delivered significant achievements in the past, but the excessive concentration in the capital region has reached a point where it is undermining the nation's growth potential," he said.
The committee outlined a customized development strategy for five regional hubs -- the Seoul metropolitan, southeast, northeast, central and western regions -- as well as three special self-governing provinces: Jeju, Gangwon and North Jeolla. The plan aims to promote regional economies and ease economic imbalances.
During a town hall meeting in Cheonan on December 5, Lee reaffirmed his commitment to alleviating excessive concentration in the capital area and advancing balanced national development. Monday's briefing precedes a series of policy sessions from ministries and public institutions, starting with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday.
This approach seeks to cultivate new growth engines in each region, supporting sustainable development across the country.
