Regional Policy in the Republic of Korea

To date, regional policies pursued in South Korea have been regarded as a component of the national economic development strategy with very limited local participation. This has arisen largely because of the strong sectoral policies of central government, the lack of resources for regional budgets and the professional attitudes of central planners towards regionalism. Recently, the Republic has entered a transitional era of regional economic policy with the emergence of statutory local development power and a mobilisation of local resources.

In the context of these trends, this article attempts to identify the major issues facing Korean regional policy.