Park Hong-keun holds first budget talks with newly elected regional leaders, pushing mega-projects and growth strategy

With the ninth round of locally elected governments now in office, the Ministry of Planning and Budget is launching its first budget consultations with metropolitan and provincial administrations across the country. The sessions are aimed at sharing the government's fiscal management direction, reviewing each region's strategic projects and next year's budget priorities, and incorporating the findings into the fiscal 2027 budget proposal.

Minister Park Hong-keun will hold one-on-one meetings with the governors and mayors of all 15 metropolitan and provincial governments Thursday and Friday, the ministry said Wednesday. The sessions are designed to align the newly inaugurated ninth-term local governments with the central government's fiscal management principles and key investment priorities, and to discuss regional development plans and major fiscal issues.

"The more economic activity concentrates in the greater Seoul area, the weaker national competitiveness becomes," Park said. "Nurturing regions as new growth hubs is not simply about balanced development — it is a core strategy for South Korea's sustainable growth."

Park added that the country is at "a pivotal moment when the industrial strengths, talent and locational advantages of each region must be channeled into new national growth engines." He said the government would link its three major mega-projects, a future-response fund and large-scale landmark projects to each region's strategic industries, creating "a virtuous cycle of growth where businesses and good jobs converge."

At the meetings, the ministry plans to brief local leaders on the government's region-led growth strategy — including the three mega-projects and the "5 poles, 3 special zones" framework — and ask them to identify and cooperate on key projects. Park urged local governments to take the lead in designing projects, saying they "know best the strengths of their regions" and should develop core initiatives tied to strategic industries.

The meetings will be conducted as individual sessions between Park and each regional leader to allow in-depth discussion of budget issues specific to each area. Local governments are expected to present priority projects aligned with the central government's investment focus and to request fiscal and institutional support.

"This is not simply a venue for receiving budget requests from the regions," Park said. "It is a place to think together about how to develop regional ideas into fiscally viable projects." The ministry plans to review the opinions raised at the meetings and reflect them in major policies, including the fiscal 2027 budget proposal.