The Ministry of Statistics building [Herald Business DB]
The Ministry of Statistics building [Herald Business DB]

The Ministry of Statistics and the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development have convened to discuss a data-driven strategy for balanced regional growth under the government's "5 poles, 3 special zones" framework. The initiative aims to support regional development by building data-based policies that reflect local characteristics and strengthening local governments' capacity to use data.

The Ministry of Statistics co-hosted the "2026 Regional Statistics and Data Development Forum" with the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development on Thursday at the Interbulgo EXCO Hotel in Daegu.

Held under the theme "A Future Connected by Data: A New Horizon for Balanced Regional Growth under the 5 Poles, 3 Special Zones Framework," the forum drew about 150 participants — including officials from local governments, regional research institutes and central administrative agencies — to discuss data-based regional development strategies.

This year's forum is the first since Statistics Korea was expanded and reorganized into the Ministry of Statistics. Reflecting the ministry's enhanced role in pan-government data coordination and data linkage and utilization, the event was renamed from the "Regional Statistics Development Forum" to the "Regional Statistics and Data Development Forum."

In the keynote address, Choi Hyeon-su, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, outlined directions for advancing regional statistics and data in response to what he called the era of "triple transformation" — encompassing digital transition, demographic change and other structural shifts.

Hong Jun-hyeon, a professor of public administration at Chung-Ang University, then presented on regional balanced growth strategies and policy challenges in the "5 poles, 3 special zones" era. Experts from the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the Korea Development Institute and the Bank of Korea discussed challenges and ways to advance data-based regional development policy.

The afternoon session featured best-practice case studies in data utilization. Presentations covered methods for combining and sharing public and private data, a probe into illegal farmland use through cross-referencing local tax records, and how such efforts have helped expand local fiscal resources. Also shared were North Jeolla Province's Jangsu-gun data-based wildfire prevention policy and the use of regional supply-use tables to analyze the movement of goods and services between regions.

"Each region has a different industrial structure, population and living conditions, so policy must accurately reflect local characteristics," said Lee Myeong-ho, vice minister of the Ministry of Statistics. "The foundation that makes this possible is reliable regional statistics and data."


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