Yoon pledges to transfer educational authority to localities to promote balanced development

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed Thursday that access to quality education and health care outside the metropolitan area is essential to decentralization, pledging to transfer central authority on public education systems to local governments.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, poses for a photo with young people at a ceremony for local autonomy and balanced development at the Daejeon Convention Center in Daejeon Thursday. He also viewed booths at the 2023 Expo for Local Era which runs to Friday at the convention center. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed Thursday that access to quality education and health care outside the metropolitan area is essential to decentralization, pledging to transfer central authority on public education systems to local governments.

"The central government will transfer its authority to localities," Yoon said at a ceremony for the inaugural local autonomy and balanced development day at Daejeon Convention Center in the central Korean city of Daejeon, calling for "education innovation" led by local governments.

"Currently, our country's potential growth rate is in the 2 percent range, and I believe that if education goes well, we will be able to leap forward again," Yoon said.

He promised to provide unprecedented tax support to companies in the metropolitan area if they relocate to regional areas.

Yoon outlined his administration's comprehensive roadmap on decentralization and balanced regional development to ensure fairer access to jobs, education, health care and culture in regions outside of the metropolitan area.

Yoon said that taking care of education and medical care is the "most important" factor in getting employees and their families to relocate to regional areas. He urged people to "work together to ensure that all regions can live fairly."

He promised to speed along reform policies to provide essential medical services in regional areas.

"In any region, we must be able to nurture internationally competitive talent through education that respects diversity and openness," Yoon added.

Yoon pledged to "widen the window of opportunity for the local economy" through special development zones, 15 national high-tech industrial complexes and digital innovation districts to "attract local companies and create quality jobs for young people."

The ceremony, which aligned with the special act for decentralization and balanced development, was attended by some 600 people, including central government officials, governors and mayors from the country's 17 municipal and provincial governments and local education office chiefs.

The Ministry of Education and the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development on the same day revealed a draft plan for a special zone for education development.

It called for establishing prestigious regional high schools and expanding local talent recruitment, including through regional medical schools.

Such a zone will be able to pool the resources of provincial and municipal government, education offices, universities, public institutions and local businesses to support joint efforts to nurture talents and help them settle down outside of the capital area.

It would provide an integrated system linking child care, elementary, middle and high school and university education so that local students can receive quality education.

This addresses the ongoing worries over the overpopulation in the Seoul metropolitan area due to subpar opportunities outside of it.

Yoon also expressed support for the three-day 2023 Expo for Local Era, the country's largest regional exposition, which runs to Friday in Daejeon.

Yoon later spoke at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the future vision declaration for the Daedeok Special Zone for Research and Development and promised that the government “will support researchers so that they can passionately pursue innovative research." The special zone, designated in 2005, is a leading science and technology hub home to some 17,000 doctorate holders, 26 research institutes, 2,400 companies and seven universities. Yoon also met with young researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science in Daejeon.

Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung speaks at press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul Thursday. [NEWS1]

Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung, in turn, held a press conference at the National Assembly on Thursday criticizing the Yoon administration's budget plan for next year.

He said the DP will push for a "goal to attain a 3 percent economic growth rate for the recovery of the national economy."

Lee said the government "needs to develop an economic stimulus package but is only focusing on fiscal soundness" and requested more spending on research and development (R&D) and renewable energy.

This comes after Yoon gave a parliamentary speech on Wednesday asking for bipartisan support to pass the government's 657-trillion-won ($487 billion) budget for next year, marking the smallest on-year increase since 2005. R&D is an area that saw drastic budget cuts.

Yoon and Lee had their first proper sit-down meeting ahead of the speech at the National Assembly, joined by other politicians and government officials.

When asked by reporters if he is open to a three-way meeting with Yoon and People Power Party Chairman Kim Gi-hyeon, Lee replied, "I will do it if necessary."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]