Han Byung-do, Leads the Proposal of Support Package Act for Population Decline Crisis Areas

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] On the 24th, Han Byung-do, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he has taken the lead in proposing the "Local City Population Decline Crisis Area Support Package Act," which designates local cities suffering from severe population outflow as population decline crisis areas, allowing the government and local governments to provide financial and administrative support.

The package act is an amendment to three laws: the Special Act on Balanced National Development, the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, and the Local Tax Special Cases Act. The amendment first defines population decline crisis areas as "areas outside the metropolitan area, metropolitan cities, special self-governing cities, and special self-governing provinces where the population has significantly decreased, causing the area to disappear or be at risk of disappearance, requiring special government support."

The authority to designate and revoke the designation of population decline crisis areas is given to the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, who may consult with the National Balanced Development Committee, relevant central administrative agencies, and provincial governors if necessary.

Once designated as a population decline crisis area, the area can receive financial and administrative support from the national and local governments. The amendment also includes provisions requiring the government to incorporate matters related to the designation, policy implementation, and support of population decline crisis areas when establishing the five-year national balanced development plan.

Representative Han stated, "The population decline phenomenon in local cities not only worsens living infrastructure and the local economy but also leads to a decline in the quality of life, so urgent measures are needed to break this vicious cycle," emphasizing, "National support measures for population decline crisis areas are essential for achieving the balanced national development aimed at by the Moon Jae-in administration."

Meanwhile, according to the "Local Extinction Risk Index 2019" released last year by the Korea Employment Information Service, among 228 cities, counties, and districts nationwide, 97 areas (42.5%) were identified as at risk of extinction.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.