Jeonbuk Local Governments' Competitiveness 'Backsliding'

Published 20 Aug.2021 11:31(KST)

Continued Decline in Competitiveness Index... Urgent Need for Local Governments' Efforts

As the competitiveness of local governments in Jeonbuk continues to decline, Jeonbuk Province ranked 5th among provinces, and Wanju County ranked 4th among counties in the "2021 National Local Government Evaluation" announced by the Korean Association for Local Government Studies.

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Han-ho] It has been revealed that the competitiveness of local governments in Jeonbuk is gradually declining.

With most local governments in Jeonbuk facing the risk of extinction, the decline in competitiveness could further exacerbate this issue, demanding strenuous efforts.

According to Jeonbuk local governments on the 20th, in the recently announced ‘2021 National Local Government Evaluation’ by the Korean Local Autonomy Academic Society, Jeonbuk Province ranked 5th among the 9 provinces nationwide.

While it ranked 3rd in the 2019 and 2020 evaluations, this year it dropped two steps.

The decline in competitiveness was also evident in the evaluation of 14 cities and counties.

Among cities with populations under 500,000, none of Jeonbuk’s cities were included in the top 10. Since the Korean Local Autonomy Academic Society began evaluations in 2017, no city in Jeonbuk with a population under 500,000 has ever ranked within the top 5.

At least in the category of cities with populations over 500,000, Jeonju City ranked 5th, saving face. Jeonju City jumped 6 places from 11th last year.

The situation was similar for counties.

Only Wanju County ranked 4th, while the other 7 counties were outside the top 10.

Jinan County, which briefly ranked 3rd in last year’s evaluation, disappeared from the top 10 this year.

Even Wanju County, which performed relatively well, cannot avoid criticism for declining competitiveness considering it ranked 2nd among 82 counties nationwide in the 2017 and 2018 evaluations.

This decline in competitiveness of Jeonbuk local governments is even more pronounced when looking at the KLCI (Korean Local Competitiveness Index) survey published annually by the Korea Public Autonomy Research Institute.

In the 25th KLCI survey (2020) announced last November by the Public Autonomy Research Institute, which comprehensively evaluates the competitiveness of cities, counties, and districts under jurisdiction, Jeonbuk ranked only 12th among 15 cities and provinces excluding Sejong City.

Competitiveness, which showed an upward trend with rankings of 11th in 2016, 9th in 2017, and 4th in 2018, plummeted to 12th in 2019 and shows no signs of improvement.

The comprehensive competitiveness of Jeonbuk’s cities and counties is similar.

Among cities, only Jeonju City ranked 8th in 2019 and 9th in 2020.

The other five cities, including Iksan City, have never been ranked within the top 10 since 2016.

Among counties, Wanju County had been ranked within the top 10 (3rd in 2016, 2nd in 2017, 4th in 2018, 4th in 2019) but disappeared from the rankings in 2020.

Except for Wanju County, the only other county to rank was Jinan County, which ranked 10th in 2019.

This weak competitiveness of Jeonbuk local governments is pointed out to potentially accelerate the risk of regional extinction, coupled with recent population decline and economic recession.

The population extinction risk index for Jeonbuk, announced by the Korea Employment Information Service in May last year, was 0.506, categorized as the ‘caution’ stage.

In particular, Imsil County scored 0.187, classified as ‘crisis,’ and 10 other cities and counties, excluding Jeonju City, Gunsan City, and Iksan City, are in the ‘risk’ stage.

Accordingly, it is demanded that rather than merely talking about regional development and administration for residents, special measures must follow to enhance regional competitiveness and offset the risk of extinction.

National Assembly member Ahn Ho-young (Wanju, Jinan, Muju, Jangsu) said, “At a time when voices worrying about the survival of regions are growing louder, intrinsic regional competitiveness is more important than anything else,” adding, “While the political sphere is making many efforts to improve local government competitiveness, what is more urgent is the preparation and implementation of self-help measures at the local government level that involve painful sacrifices.”