Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-jun, "40-Year-Old Capital Region Management Plan Act Needs Amendment to Fit Current Reality"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] Suwon Special Metropolitan City Mayor Lee Jae-jun said, "The Capital Region Management Plan Act, which was enacted 40 years ago, must be amended to fit the current reality."

The mayor stated this at a 'Parliamentary Forum for Amendment of the Capital Region Management Plan Act' held on the 19th in Conference Room 2 of the National Assembly Members' Building, saying "Over the past 20 years, Suwon City's financial independence ratio has been cut in half, and this will likely be the same for other local governments in the 'congestion control zone,'" and stressed "It is now time to readjust the Capital Region Management Plan Act, which has become a reverse discrimination against local governments in the Capital Region."

He also stated, "Advanced nations that enacted similar laws recognized the problems and amended their laws to strengthen national competitiveness," and said "First, we must adjust the excessive tax rates imposed on companies in local governments within the congestion control zone." He added, "Amendment of the Capital Region Management Plan Act will be able to increase national competitiveness."

Today's forum was co-hosted by 10 National Assembly members from 'congestion control zone' local governments including Representatives Kim Young-jin, Baek Hye-ryun, and Kim Seung-won, and was jointly organized by 10 local governments in the congestion control zone including Suwon City and the Suwon Research Institute.

The forum proceeded with a keynote address by Professor Kim Gap-sung from the Urban Engineering Department at Yonsei University, presentations by Hong Sa-heum, Director of the National Territory Planning and Evaluation Center at Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, and Yang Eun-soon, Director of Urban Management Research Division at Suwon Research Institute, followed by panel discussions.

Professor Kim Gap-sung, who presented on the topic of 'Capital Region Management Plan and Paradigm Shift,' said "The Capital Region management plan must be revised considering the low birth rate and low-growth structure," and stated "A mega region strategy should establish a network centered on regional major cities."

He continued, "The benefits of Capital Region deregulation should be secured as co-prosperity funds to support non-Capital regions," and argued "Decentralization should promote autonomous regional development and establish a co-prosperity structure between the Capital Region and non-Capital regions."

Yang Eun-soon, Director of Urban Management Research Division, who presented on 'National Growth Management through Capital Region Deregulation,' stated "Although the Capital Region was regulated for balanced development, balanced growth has failed," and emphasized "To strengthen national competitiveness, there is a need to shift from 'Capital Region growth restraint' to 'Capital Region growth management policy.'"

He also said, "The policy direction for Capital Region and non-Capital region regulations should be shifted to deregulating the Capital Region and pursuing growth management strategies," and "We must expand the overall scale as a national growth strategy, not as growth restraint or congestion control measures."

Hong Sa-heum, Director of the National Territory Planning and Evaluation Center, who presented on the topic of 'Fourth Capital Region Management Plan and Congestion Control Zone Management,' said "Customized differential management should be implemented by considering regional characteristics within the same zone," and stated "In the medium to long term, there is a need to review changes to the zone system by visualizing the outcomes of balanced development policies and considering changes in circumstances."

Lee Won-hee, President of Korea National University of Transportation, Lee Young-sung, Professor of Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Lee Bum-hyun, Professor of Urban Design and Information Engineering at Sungkyul University, Lee Dong-wook, Professor of IT Convergence Business at Bucheon University, Lee Hye-in, Official of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Capital Region Policy Division, and Kang Shik, Senior Research Fellow of Gyeonggi Research Institute participated in the panel discussion.