North Gyeongsang Province jumped into the race to attract the second round of public institution transfers, becoming the first among metropolitan governments to do so after the June 3 local elections. The plan is to secure so-called "prime public institutions" such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the Korea Racing Authority (KRA). Governor Lee Cheol-woo, who secured a third consecutive term, said, "The real war to attract public institutions has begun."
On the 9th, North Gyeongsang Province held the "Second public institution transfer to North Gyeongsang pledge rally" at the provincial office. With the government expected to ramp up discussions on the second round of public institution transfers after the local elections, the event was meant to recheck existing attraction strategies and progress. About 100 officials, including bureau and Director General-level officials in charge of attracting public institution transfers, attended.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the lead ministry, also plans to begin work in earnest on the second round of public institution transfers. The second round of public institution transfers is also a state agenda of the Lee Jae-myung administration. Based on the results of related studies, the government is expected to decide the institutions and regions for transfer within this year and begin reallocating public institutions starting next year.
The second-round transfer list is expected to include more than 350 institutions. That is more than double the first-round list. Previously, after the government released a national balanced development plan in 2003 and finalized a plan in 2005 to relocate public institutions to the provinces, it transferred 153 public institutions to innovation cities across the country and other regions.
In particular, several large public institutions are being mentioned for this second round. Representative examples include the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, Korea Airports Corporation (KAC), the Korea Racing Authority (KRA), the Bank of Korea, Korea District Heating Corporation (KDHC), and the Korea Environment Corporation (K-eco). Many of these institutions have workforces numbering in the thousands and annual revenue in the trillions of won.
For local governments, the potential benefits of attracting such large public institutions are significant. When an institution relocates, employees and their families move together, potentially increasing demand for housing, consumption, education, medical care, and services. Companies, associations, or research institutes related to the public institution may also move together. This is why local governments are striving to attract "prime public institutions."
North Gyeongsang Province also views the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and the Korea Racing Authority (KRA) as key targets. The province hopes to attract a total of 46 public institutions. Emphasizing that it is Korea's largest producer of agriculture and forestry, the province plans to focus on attracting public institutions related to agriculture, livestock, and forestry.
During the first round of public institution transfers, North Gyeongsang already attracted the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service, and the Korea Seed & Variety Service to the Gimcheon Innovation City. The province believes that if large agriculture-related institutions such as the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation are additionally transferred, it can bundle production, distribution, processing, and export functions to create synergy.
However, some analysis suggests that the push for a Daegu–North Gyeongsang administrative integration could become a variable in attracting the desired institutions. At a New Year's press conference this year, President Lee Jae-myung, speaking about public institution transfers, said in effect that "we will send more to places pursuing metropolitan integration." Yoon Ho-jung, the Minister of the Interior and Safety, also noted that public institutions could be prioritized for allocation in regions that pursue administrative integration.
Accordingly, the speed of the Daegu–North Gyeongsang administrative integration talks could affect the competition to attract public institutions going forward. If the government establishes transfer criteria that favor integrated regions, North Gyeongsang's attraction strategy will inevitably be tied to integration talks with Daegu.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, "Gyeongbuk laid the foundation for Korea's industrialization and has served as a forward base for entering a top-tier nation," adding, "From now, with the launch of the new local government, begins the real war to attract public institutions."