Hapcheon-gun Focuses Administrative Efforts to Counter Population Decline and Increase Population

As of the end of September 2020, 83 newborns
Total fertility rate 1.11, 4th among Gyeongnam military regions

Hapcheon County Office Building Exterior (Photo by Hapcheon County)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam announced on the 7th that although the population continues to decline to 44,195 as of the end of September, it is promoting various policies to support the settlement of return-to-farm and return-to-village residents and to increase the population.

The county operates various programs for the stable settlement of return-to-farm and return-to-village residents, including the establishment of a dedicated return-to-farm department and the creation of Hapcheon-gun's top agricultural startup complex in Gyeongnam.

The return-to-farm and return-to-village population increased by 811 in the first half of this year. Although the overall population does not increase due to outmigration and deaths, the return-to-farm and return-to-village population is steadily growing.

Meanwhile, various population increase policies provide support such as settlement support funds for married couples (2 million KRW over 3 years), childbirth (adoption) congratulatory and incentive payments (up to 10 million KRW), and support for infant care expenses, learning expenses, and tuition for growing children.

The county is making efforts to create a child-friendly environment by operating communal childcare sharing centers such as the Together Our Child Happiness Center and the Mother-Child Happiness Shelter next year, along with support policies for newcomers including moving-in support funds, health insurance premiums, and resident tax support.

In particular, by attracting various large-scale private investment projects, the county is accelerating development projects such as ▲construction of the clean Hapcheon new town ▲creation of the Hapcheon clean energy convergence power complex ▲hotel construction in the auxiliary dam tourist area to induce population inflow.

County Governor Moon Jun-hee said, “We will do our best to develop various population inflow policies such as return-to-farm and return-to-village policies, create an environment favorable for childbirth, build a desirable neighborhood and a city where people want to settle, and at the same time attract large-scale private investment projects to bring in population.”

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