Haenam-gun Focuses Administrative Efforts to Recover Population to 70,000

Population Increase Policy Report Meeting Held, Focus on Sector-Specific Policy Development

Haenam-gun Office Building Exterior (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do is focusing administrative efforts, including policy development involving all public officials, with the goal of restoring the population to 70,000.

According to Haenam-gun on the 8th, the population was about 68,800 as of the end of last year, which is a decrease of about 1,000 compared to 2019, causing the population to fall below 70,000. The main causes of the decline are analyzed as a combination of factors typical of rural farming and fishing areas, including out-migration due to education and job changes, low birth rates, and aging population.

As population increase has emerged as an urgent task for regional development, the county has set restoring the population to 70,000 as this year’s main goal and is focusing on finding solutions through analyzing the major causes of population decline.

In this regard, on the 29th of last month, a policy briefing session on population increase was held, and various policies to increase population and improve living conditions were developed.

At the briefing, various sector-specific measures to increase population were discussed, including support for settlement of local high school graduates, student retention through specialization of rural schools, population inflow linked with local companies, and creation of jobs in the social economy.

Haenam-gun also plans to promote population increase policies involving all residents, such as providing relocation incentive contributions to companies based on the number of employees who change their registered address to Haenam while residing in the county but having their official address elsewhere, including related institutions, organizations, and company executives.

Despite achieving the highest total fertility rate nationwide for seven consecutive years, Haenam-gun’s population continues to decline. Last year, the county established a Population Policy Division to serve as the control tower for population policy implementation and to promote comprehensive population policies.

In particular, to increase the birth rate relative to the death rate, the county is expanding medical welfare services through the operation of obstetrics and gynecology delivery clinics and public postpartum care centers, and is devoting efforts to creating a childbirth environment through various policies from marriage to childbirth and childcare.

This year, construction began on the Ttangkkeut Family Harmony Center, which will provide comprehensive services from childbirth to childcare, accelerating efforts to make Haenam a better place to raise children.

To stabilize housing for hopeful returnees to farming and fishing villages, the county is promoting support for farmhouse repair costs, vacant house remodeling projects, and systematically establishing support systems such as income base formation for rural settlement.

Job creation projects through youth employment and start-up support will also continue. With the establishment of a youth center in the first half of this year, a new communication channel for youth will be created, and various youth job projects such as the Jeonnam Youth Village Project, Youth Doodream Startup Support, social economy enterprise youth manager projects, and Haenam-style crowdfunding job creation support projects are being implemented to help youth actively participate and settle in the region.

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan stated, “To maintain Haenam’s status as a strong county in Jeonnam, solving the most realistic problem of rural society, population decline, has become the most urgent issue,” and added, “We will make greater efforts to create a vibrant and livable Haenam through communication with residents and development of various policies.”

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