Seoul, Nov 12 (IANS) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday reaffirmed his commitment to reform the Seoul-centric governance model, pledging stronger measures to boost regional development through financial decentralisation and the relocation of public institutions.
During his first meeting with regional mayors and governors since taking office in June, Lee emphasised that balanced regional growth and equal partnership between the central and local governments are key to ensuring nationwide prosperity. “We will accelerate efforts to decentralise local finances and relocate public institutions to regional areas,” he said, noting that subsidies and other forms of support will be expanded for areas farther from Seoul.
Lee highlighted that the size of local autonomous budgets has grown nearly threefold, from around 3.8 trillion won to about 10.6 trillion won, but stressed that decentralisation efforts remain incomplete even three decades after local elections were introduced. “Local autonomy has often been symbolic,” he admitted, pledging closer collaboration to improve citizens’ livelihoods.
Earlier, Lee also urged strict action against hate speech and disinformation, calling them crimes that threaten democracy. He instructed authorities to establish mechanisms to punish hate-driven acts and curb the spread of false information across social media platforms.
–IANS
