On the 15th, President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered the strengthening of secondary education in the provinces, saying, “Education is the most important factor in regional development and balanced regional development” regarding the policy direction for balanced regional development. He also revealed his will to push for a plan to hand over authority over local universities to city and provincial governors. He also proposed a ‘running mate system’ in which metropolitan cities and provincial governors and superintendents were elected together.
President Yoon said at the first national task inspection meeting that day, “I think that secondary education in the provinces brings corporate transfers and investments, and that in turn creates a circulation structure that develops local universities.”
President Yoon said, “An opportunity for secondary education to be freely chosen by various educational institutions and education demanders must be guaranteed.” He continued, “As soon as Minister Lee Joo-ho took office this time, I will hand over the authority of the Ministry of Education for local universities to the mayor and provincial governor.” In the concluding remarks at the meeting, “Rather than separately electing the governor and the superintendent of education, if the mayor/provincial governor and the superintendent run as running mates and the local residents make their choice, wouldn’t it be much more helpful for the regional era and balanced regional development?” said.
Busan Mayor Park Hyeong-joon said, “Transferring authority dramatically and quickly is the most important thing for local governments to achieve specialized development.” President Yoon said, “U.S. governors actively travel around the world to attract investment, but I’ve thought regarding why our country’s mayors and provincial governors can’t do that.” “There is fundamentally no authority to apply flexibly.”
Woo Dong-ki, chairman of the National Balanced Development Committee, said, “We will complete the relocation of Korea Development Bank to Busan as soon as possible, and push for the second public institution relocation to begin in the second half of next year at the earliest.” President Yoon said, “The central government will provide various financial and tax support so that infrastructure projects that are most helpful to the local economy can be initiated first.”
