Firms pledge regional investment after Lee’s call

Feb 05, 2026, 08:18 am

		0
President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a meeting with business leaders on youth jobs and regional investment at the presidential office on Tuesday. / Yonhap

President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday urged South Korea’s top conglomerates to expand youth employment and regional investment, prompting business leaders to unveil plans to pour nearly 300 trillion won into provincial areas over the coming years.

At a meeting held at the presidential office with heads and senior executives from 10 major business groups, Lee said he hoped the benefits of economic growth would spread beyond large companies and the capital region to smaller firms, local communities and younger generations. He called on the private sector to work in step with the government’s push to create new regional growth hubs.

In response, the 10 conglomerates said they plan to invest about 270 trillion won in regional projects over the next five years. Of that total, 66 trillion won is slated for this year alone, alongside plans to hire roughly 51,600 workers — increases of 16 trillion won in investment and 2,500 jobs compared with last year.

Lee emphasized that cooperation between the public and private sectors is essential to strengthening young people’s skills and expanding job opportunities. He also reiterated the government’s commitment to building new engines of regional development under what he described as a “five-pole, three-special-zone” strategy, calling on companies to align their efforts with the initiative.

Pointing to the growing importance of advanced technologies and renewable energy, Lee said the shift presents new opportunities. “Over the long term, everything in the capital region has become expensive and scarce, which undermines competitiveness,” he said, adding that regional areas could offer greater opportunities if properly developed — a key objective of his administration.

Speaking on behalf of the business community, Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Business Federation, pledged strong support for youth employment and regional economic revitalization. He said that when investments by additional companies are included, total regional investment could reach around 300 trillion won.

According to presidential spokesperson Lee Gyu-yeon, preliminary hiring plans include about 12,000 new recruits at Samsung Electronics, 8,500 at SK Group, more than 3,000 at LG Group, 3,300 at POSCO Group, and 5,780 at Hanwha Group.

The meeting did not include discussions on a possible U.S. tariff hike, the spokesperson said.

Attendees included Lee Jae-yong of Samsung, Chey Chang-won, Chung Euisun, Koo Kwang-mo, Shin Dong-bin, Jang In-hwa, Kim Dong-kwan, Chung Ki-sun, Huh Tae-soo, and Cho Won-tae.

Lee’s office said Lee Jae-yong noted that Samsung’s improving business performance this year would allow for expanded hiring. When Lee asked whether he had canceled overseas commitments to attend the meeting, the Samsung chairman replied, “Of course.”

#Lee Jae-myung #regional investment #youth jobs #conglomerates #local development