Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) has begun reviewing the creation of a dedicated team to support the second round of public institution transfers to the provinces. Once the government finalizes the targets and placement principles in the second half of this year, LH plans to operate the dedicated team to supply office site land to institutions slated for transfer. If there is a shortage of sites to supply, it will also review creating new development districts. LH, which handled innovative city development and land supply during the first round of public institution transfers, is moving to prepare for the second round.
According to the government and LH on the 22nd, LH recently reported to the government that it is reviewing the creation of a dedicated team in line with the timeline as the second-round public institution transfer plan takes shape. The team would secure sites to supply to institutions slated for transfer and swiftly push new development projects if there is a shortage of land in existing development districts.
An LH official said, "Internally, there is an opinion that a dedicated team is needed to handle the second-round public institution transfer project, so we are reviewing whether to establish it," and added, "Because the government plan has not been finalized, the size, composition, and scope of work of the team have not been decided."
The second-round transfer of public institutions is a national agenda of the Lee Jae-myung administration. As many as about 350 public institutions remaining in the Seoul metropolitan area, as well as government-funded and government-invested institutions, are being discussed as candidates for review. However, because the government has not yet finalized the target institutions and regions for transfer, the actual number of institutions to be transferred may change.
The government prepared the first-round plan for transferring public institutions to the provinces in 2005. Transfers began in Dec. 2012, and by the end of 2019, 153 institutions had been moved to 10 innovative cities nationwide and to Sejong.
At the time, Korea Land Corporation maintained business units for each innovative city and handled land compensation, site preparation, and site supply for institutions slated for transfer. LH is also reviewing a plan to perform a similar role in the second round once the government finalizes the placement regions.
The launch timing and size of the dedicated team are expected to be finalized after the government releases its transfer plan. The government plans to announce the second-round public institution transfer plan in the second half of this year and begin transfers as early as next year, focusing on lead institutions. Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport appeared on a broadcast on the 27th of last month and said, "A significant portion of the practical work has progressed," adding, "If possible, we plan to shape the outline by August or, at the latest, by September and report to the president."
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is preparing a plan that includes the transfer targets and regions, placement principles, and implementation schedule. It will survey the institutions and candidate sites that each local government hopes to attract and comprehensively review linkage with regional strategic industries, spillover effects on the regional economy, and settlement conditions such as transportation, housing, and education.
For the second round of transfers, rather than splitting institutions across multiple regions, it is likely they will be concentrated in specific hubs, taking into account functional and industrial linkages. In its recently released "economic growth strategy for the second half of 2026," the government also presented a principle of clustered placement linked to the "five poles and three specialties" strategy while minimizing institutions that remain in the Seoul metropolitan area.
President Lee Jae-myung also said at a town hall meeting held in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, in March, "Let's concentrate the second-round public institution transfers as much as possible," and added, "Balanced development is a matter of national survival, so this is not a situation where we can scatter them."
The role of LH's dedicated team will vary depending on whether the government uses existing innovative cities or establishes separate transfer hubs. If there is sufficient land available in existing innovative cities, the focus will be on surveying LH-owned land and supplying it to institutions slated for transfer. Conversely, if there is a shortage of sites or if institutions are to be concentrated in new regions, its role could expand to include candidate site surveys, development plan formulation, land compensation, and site preparation.