The ruling Saenuri Party is moving to build a joint economic zone between the southern provinces in a move to woo voters ahead of December's presidential election, a party official said Thursday.
The move would promote regional growth both in the Gyeongsang area in the country's southeast and the Jeolla region in the southwest, the official said, asking not to be identified.
The official is a member of a party committee in charge of drawing up campaign pledges for the Dec. 19 presidential polls.
"(The plan) is part of the 'east-west unity project' Saenuri presidential candidate Park Geun-hye is pushing for to resolve regional rivalries and growth imbalance," the official told Yonhap News Agency by phone.
Park has pledged to achieve national unity across political and social divides if elected.
A possible site for the joint economic zone could be along the Seomjin River, which flows between the two rival regions, the official added.
Another party official stressed the plan is still in its infant stages, but acknowledged it would help win votes for the party both in the Jeolla area, a traditional stronghold of the liberal camp, and in South Gyeongsang Province, which has recently shown signs of shifting allegiance from the ruling conservatives to the two liberal presidential candidates who were born and raised there.
Saenuri officials also said the party will hold a general meeting of its lawmakers later in the day to discuss ways to move forward its key campaign pledge of so-called economic democratization.
The pledge has sparked debate within the party with some calling for drastic reforms that will reduce the economic dominance of conglomerates and lead to shared growth with small businesses and others expressing caution about hurting big businesses.
It is the first time the party has decided to formally discuss the issue among its members. (Yonhap)