DAEJEON < invest Korea

Daejeon City Holds Roundtable with Public Agencies Seeking Relocation (Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Joo-young = Daejeon Metropolitan City held a roundtable discussion in the city hall medium conference room with labor union representatives from seven public agencies seeking relocation to Daejeon. The meeting focused on discussing collaborative strategies and joint response plans to attract these public institutions during the government's second phase of public agency relocation. 2026.09.02 jyoung@yna.co.kr

According to Yonhap News,

(Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Joo-young = Ahead of the central government's second phase of public agency relocation, Daejeon Metropolitan City is concentrating its efforts on attracting public organizations tailored to regional strengths, such as the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) and specialized research management bodies.

According to the city on the 4th, its task force responding to the second public agency relocation selected 40 target institutions in February and submitted the list to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), subsequently driving focused attraction activities.

Target organizations were primarily selected from sectors aligned with Daejeon's local industry clusters, including national research and development (R&D) management agencies, defense research institutions like KIDA, intellectual property, railway services, green technology, and startup/venture technology finance.

Yoo Se-jong, Head of the Task Force for Second Public Agency Relocation, told Yonhap News, "With defense-related entities like the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), and Hanwha Aerospace concentrated in Daejeon, we are promoting the relocation of KIDA to align with its core functions," adding, "We view alignment between agency characteristics and urban functionality as the key factor, and are tailoring our strategies accordingly."

Following the central government's recently announced 'Plan for Administrative/Public Agency Relocation and Functional Reform'—which includes merging the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology with the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF)—the city expects the former to naturally integrate into NRF, which is headquartered in Daejeon.

The city is highlighting its ability to provide immediate-access sites for rapid employee relocation, targeting public agencies in Seoul that require prompt relocation due to residential development projects on their current properties.

Specifically, specialized R&D management bodies—which plan, uate, and manage national R&D programs—have been designated as priority targets due to potential synergies with the 27 government-funded science and technology research institutes concentrated in Daedeok Innopolis.

On the 2nd, union representatives from five research management agencies—the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement, Korea Institute of Energy Technology uation and Planning, and Korea Institute of Marine Science & Technology Promotion—alongside the Korea Press Foundation and the National Institute of Green Technology met with Daejeon City officials and submitted a recommendation urging active support for their relocation to Daejeon.

These public organizations have reportedly petitioned their overseeing ministries and the National Assembly multiple times since early this year expressing their desire to move to Daejeon. Industry observers note it as an unusual case where public agencies are extending "love calls" to a local government rather than local governments competing against one another.

Task Force Head Yoo added, "We understand that among the public agencies remaining in the Capital region, many prefer Daejeon as their target destination," noting, "During the meeting on the 2nd, there were additional agencies that could not publicly attend but share the desire to relocate to Daejeon."

jyoung@yna.co.kr



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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (September 04, 2026)

** This article was translated from Korean.