More productive, attractive regions outside Seoul key to sustaining growth: OECD officials
Korea needs to boost productivity in regions outside the capital area and make them more attractive places to live as it seeks to sustain economic growth and address demographic challenges, officials at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Wednesday. Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities at the Paris-based…
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) officials have emphasized the importance of increasing productivity and attractiveness in regions outside of Seoul to maintain economic growth and tackle demographic issues in South Korea. Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions, and Cities at the OECD, shared her insights with Yonhap News Agency.
Kamal-Chaoui highlighted that despite the concentration of people and economic activities in the capital region, the economic gaps between different regions in terms of GDP per capita are among the smallest in the OECD. She noted that Seoul is the most densely populated area across the OECD, yet the economic growth experienced by South Korea has resulted in one of the smallest regional disparities in GDP per capita among OECD countries.
Kamal-Chaoui suggested that the conversation surrounding regional disparities extends beyond economic growth and raises questions about the sustainability of such concentration in the capital region.
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