Overview
- At his first central–local partnership meeting since taking office, President Lee vowed to break from a Seoul-centric model by decentralizing finances and relocating public institutions to regional areas.
- The government proposed boosting allocations to local autonomous accounts from about 3.8 trillion won this year to roughly 10.6 trillion won in next year’s budget, which is under parliamentary review.
- Officials outlined revised subsidy calculation rules, a pan-governmental team to track local-economy goals, and expanded incentives for regions farther from Seoul.
- Sixteen serving metropolitan and provincial leaders attended the meeting, with Daegu’s post vacant; 11 are conservatives and five are from the ruling Democratic Party.
- Some opposition leaders, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, raised concerns about perceived disadvantages for the capital and the financial burden on local governments.