Korea’s survival strategy: Lee’s high-stakes bet on balanced regional development

Since taking office, President Lee Jae Myung has emphasized decentralization and regional growth, repeatedly highlighting the need for balanced regional development to address the growing concentration of people and capital in the Seoul metropolitan area. Among other problems, this overconcentration has fueled extreme housing inequality — the OECD notes that Korea has the widest gap among its member countries, with home prices in the largest cities exceeding those in smaller cities by more than 200 percent as of 2023. To address this issue, Lee pledged during his election campaign to establish a National Assembly branch and a second presidential office in Sejong, located in the central region of the country, as part of his plan to turn the city into a fully functional administrative capital. Lee acknowledged that although Sejong has grown steadily since its establishment in 2012 through the partial relocation of central government ministries, it continues to face criticism as an incomplete administrative capital. “Sejong is the heart of Korea’s administration and the center of balaWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times