A law that allows the establishment of special regional zones is set to take effect on Thursday in a bid to promote specialized development in the areas.

The Finance Ministry said Wednesday that with the effectuation of the new legislation, it will begin accepting applications from local self-governing bodies that wish to have their regions designated as zones specializing in certain fields, including tourism, leisure and sport as well as industry.

The government said the submitted applications will be considered by a working-level committee comprised of senior officials from the Ministries of Transportation and Construction and of Environment. After the committee's recommendation, the applications will then be delivered to a special committee headed by Finance Minister Lee Hun-jai, which will decide on the final designated special zones.

The Finance Ministry will hold one-on-one consultations next month with officials of self-governing bodies that hope to have their region considered for special designation and will decide by the end of this year, at the earliest, on ten special regional zones.