The Yoon Suk Yeol Administration's Vision for the Decentralization Era and Tasks for Policy

The concentration of income, jobs, and population in the Greater Seoul area (SMA) adds to the problems of regions outside of the capital area, creating a major headache for a government pursuing a goal of balanced national development. Unless structural problems that hinder such development are rectified, such as the two-tiered labor market, the spatial gap in asset values, the irrelevance of provincial universities, and the side effects of the centralized government system, migration to the SMA is unlikely to stop. Many policies have sought to promote balanced development, but the results have yielded results contrary to what was expected. Under a motto of equal opportunity regardless of location, the Yoon administration has made three pledges and designated 15 national tasks for balanced national development. These tasks seek to level an uneven playing field, one currently in which access to quality education and financial assets are determined by birth and where one grows up. These policy measures also seek to tackle other structural problems hindering to balanced development. This paper looks at the administration's three pledges and 15 policy tasks as part of a vision for decentralization, including the opportunity development zone (ODZ), a key project in a move toward market-friendly decentralization that marks a departure from the policies of previous administrations. This paper concludes with policy recommendations to achieve this decentralization, such as overhauling the control tower for decentralized and balanced national development, developing three strategies and 10 core tasks to support the Fifth Five-year Balanced National Development Plan, devising a system to coordinate and review regional policy tasks, and streamlining the special account.