Nation Rezoned for Development
Local Governments to Get More Autonomy in ‘Super Province’ Project
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The presidential transition team unveiled Thursday a so-called 5+2 Super Province Initiative (SPI), an alternative development plan to replace the Roh Moo-hyun administration's balanced regional development project.
The plan calls for the establishment of five super economic zones ― Seoul and its surrounding area; Chungcheong; Jeolla; Daegu and Gyeongsang and the southeastern region ― along with two special districts of Gangwon and the Jeju Island.
``The cross-region combination is a necessary measure to strengthen the nation's competitiveness in an era of globalization. Economies of scale are behind the alternative regional concept,'' said Rep. Park Heong-joon, head of the planning and coordination division of the transition team.
He said that regional vicinity and a population of 5 million or more were two criteria used for the seven regions.
The super province concept refers to a hub city-centered local development plan where the functions of local industry, educational facilities, medical institutions and cultural agencies are combined and redesigned within the region to achieve economies of scale.
Under the plan, local governments, not the central administration, will be given the power to take a leading role in development projects as well as attracting foreign investment
Sources said competition of location has become a new driving force for foreign direct investment.
They said the new plan is geared toward attracting foreign investment by offering one-stop services and easing regulations.
Experts said the super region is a global trend distinctive in Europe, Japan and China.
Rep. Park said it is a must-do national strategy for the economy to survive in the era of globalization.
John Newhouse, a former guest scholar at the Brookings Institute in the United States, said in an article in Foreign Affairs in 1997 that regionalism has risen in Europe.
``With the European government losing or ceding control of national economies, their constituencies are turning to the market for help,'' Newhouse said.
``Two parallel and related processes have emerged. One is regionalism, the other globalization; instead of working through national capitals, European regions are linking themselves directly to the global economy.''
The incoming government's plan is an opposite model to the incumbent administration's balanced regional development plan in that the latter underscores the role of the central government, while the former gives more autonomy to local bodies.
Pointing out the current development model revealed weaknesses such as project overlapping between local governments and consuming competition for natural resources, Park said the super region model was the answer.