Jeju Island to Get More Autonomy
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Beginning next year at the earliest, Jeju Island will become home to private foreign academic institutes or their off-site campuses.
The Office of the Prime Minister said Sunday a special bill for Jeju Special Self-Governing Province would allow the province to further expand its degree of autonomy.
On Monday, the office will make details of the bill public, officials said.
Besides opening private schools, the local Jeju government will likely receive more authority to govern the island.
The attempt is viewed as part of the central government’s drive to draw investors to the southern island province.
The island runs on tourism, which used to be a big contribution to the province’s prosperity. With diminishing revenue from tourism, however, the Jeju and central governments began to shift their eyes to foreign investors.
The revised law also extended the period of tax exemption for corporations until the end of 2012. In addition, the island will receive central government support to mobilize itself as a model for environmentally friendly provinces.