President Lee calls balanced regional growth "inevitable" for survival of nation

President Lee Jae Myung held another town hall meeting today in the southeastern city of Busan.

There, he addressed the need to achieve balanced regional growth in Korea, for which he vowed to speed up relocating the Oceans Ministry to the port city.

Correspondent Yoon Jung-min reports.

Achieving balanced regional growth is not an act of goodwill, but a must for the nation's survival.

That was according to President Lee Jae Myung on Friday, as he highlighted his policy framework on related matters at a town hall meeting in the southeastern port city of Busan.

"Everything's extremely concentrated in the capital area, which makes it chokingly overcrowded. Rural areas, on the contrary, are on the verge of extinction. For the Republic of Korea to continue to grow and develop, it has become an inevitable strategy for the survival of the nation."

Part of those efforts was relocating the Oceans Ministry from Sejong to Busan, which had been one of Lee's key election campaign pledges, to make the port city a leading global maritime hub, completion of which is aimed at by the end of this year.

"The relocation of the Oceans Ministry and related government institutions, well, it's been the talk of the town, but it is being implemented in as speedy a manner as possible."

It's also tied to expanding Arctic shipping routes; the project aimed at leveraging maritime passages through the Arctic Ocean to shorten trade routes between Asia and Europe.

For that, a road map was shared.

"First, we will relocate the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan. Secondly, we will create a court specialized in maritime affairs. Thirdly, we will integrate competitive shipping conglomerates like HMM. And lastly, we will launch the Southeast Investment Bank."

Present along with government officials were some 300 local citizens to pitch their own ideas.

"There are four national universities in Busan, including Pusan National University. Through integration and cooperation, we should establish a world-class specialized university system."

Friday's town hall meeting in the conservative stronghold of Busan was the third of its kind since Lee took office last month, following the ones in Daejeon and the liberal-leaning Gwangju.

It was delayed by a week due to last week's rain damage in the country.

It's widely seen as a move to bolster direct communication with the people.

Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.