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Lee Jae Myung Urges Public Backing for Regional Growth and AI Shift

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung emphasized that public understanding is crucial to overcoming resistance to the government's push for balanced regional growth. He stated that decades of excessive concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area has created limits in housing and infrastructure, framing decentralization as a national survival strategy. Lee highlighted the southeastern city of Ulsan, a major industrial hub, as a key front for AI transformation, leveraging its strong manufacturing base. He pledged intensive investments to position Ulsan at the forefront of an AI-driven industrial shift, citing a major planned AI data center as part of this effort.

Key Points: S. Korea's Lee Calls for Support on Regional Growth, AI Push

  • Easing Seoul's overconcentration
  • Developing five regional hubs
  • Fostering AI and advanced industries
  • Leveraging Ulsan's manufacturing base
  • Building national AI data centers
2 min read

South Korean President Lee calls for public support for balanced regional growth

President Lee Jae Myung stresses public support for balanced regional development and positioning Ulsan as a national AI hub to overcome Seoul's overconcentration.

"Decentralisation and balanced growth is not a matter of concession but a national survival strategy. - Lee Jae Myung"

Seoul, Jan 23

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that public support is crucial for the government's push for balanced regional growth, as it seeks to ease excessive concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and foster new growth engines nationwide.

Lee made the remarks as his administration is striving to develop five major regional hubs -- the Seoul metropolitan area, the southeast, northeast, central and western regions -- along with three special self-governing provinces: Jeju, Gangwon and North Jeolla.

"There is strong resistance due to entrenched inertia and vested interests," Lee said during a town hall meeting in the southeastern city of Ulsan. "At times like this, public understanding and support are very important," Yonhap News Agency reported.

Lee said decades of concentration of resources in the Seoul metropolitan area has reached its limits, citing soaring housing prices and constraints on electricity and water supplies needed for new semiconductor plants.

"Decentralisation and balanced growth is not a matter of concession but a national survival strategy," he said.

Lee also stressed the need to foster advanced industries, such as artificial intelligence (AI), saying Ulsan should position itself at the forefront of the AI transformation by leveraging its strong manufacturing base.

The city is a major industrial hub, home to large automotive, shipbuilding and petrochemical complexes. Last year, SK Group announced plans to build the nation's largest AI data center in the city in partnership with Amazon Web Services.

"Ulsan is a manufacturing powerhouse with key assets for future industries," he said. "AI transformation is an unavoidable trend. If it cannot be avoided, we should adapt to it swiftly and take the lead."

Stressing the need for an AI-driven industrial shift, Lee said South Korea must move quickly toward AI-centered manufacturing by building on its existing competitive edge, pledging efforts to foster Ulsan as a major hub.

"As Ulsan already has strong fundamentals, we need to make intensive investments here," he added.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
"Decentralisation is a national survival strategy" - such a powerful statement. So true. When everything is in one place, the whole system becomes fragile. Look at our own urban problems - traffic, pollution, unaffordable housing. Developing other hubs is the only sustainable way forward.
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Rohit P
Focusing AI development in a manufacturing hub like Ulsan is smart. India should learn and push AI/tech investments beyond Hyderabad and Bangalore. Cities like Pune, Coimbatore, or Ahmedabad with strong industrial bases could become similar hubs. We have the talent, just need the will and infrastructure.
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Sarah B
While the intent is good, the execution is always the challenge. He mentions "strong resistance due to vested interests." That's the real hurdle. In India, we see similar plans announced, but on-ground implementation gets slowed by bureaucracy and politics. Hope they succeed, it would be a good case study.
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Vikram M
Public support is crucial, as he says. But first, the government needs to build trust by showing tangible benefits. If people see better schools, hospitals, and connectivity in new hubs, they will move. It can't just be about moving factories; quality of life matters most. 🏙️→🏞️
K
Karthik V
Interesting to see a major economy tackling this. We have states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka doing well, but within those states, development is still concentrated. True balanced growth means empowering districts, not just states. The South Korean model of specific regional hubs could be adapted for our aspirational districts programme.

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