Bill Is Proposed to Reduce Regional Disparities and Promote National Balance

The government and the ruling party have decided to introduce a bill that they say will promote balanced development nationwide and reduce the disparity between metropolitan and local areas.

Officials project that the bill will pass at the regular session of the National Assembly. This act, tentatively named the "Special Act for Regional Development," allocates funds and tax support for the balanced development of the entire nation. Authorities plan to appropriate 200 billion won ($154 million) next year for the project.

"The draft will be presented at a meeting on economic cooperation between the ruling party and opposition party in the middle of October," said Kang Un-tae, a policy official of the Millennium Democratic Party. "If this new act is implemented next year, the number of corporations moving their offices from Seoul to other regional areas will increase because they will be granted low-interest financing from the government for land purchases."

The new act will grant enhanced tax support for local government municipalities if they succeed in attracting foreign investment in their district, and it prevents graduates from local universities from being discriminated against when private corporations recruit prospective employees. Also, officials say the act should gradually help transfer government investment entities located in Seoul to local areas.

by Kim Jung-ha