Busan Dong-gu, Daegu Nam-gu, and 89 Other Areas Designated as 'Population Decline Zones'... Annual Support of 1 Trillion Won, Special Act Legislation Underway

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Develops 'Population Decline Index' to Address Population Decline Crisis... 89 Areas in 11 Cities and Provinces Including Busan, Daegu, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Designated
Designated Every 5 Years, Thoroughly Analyzed for 2 Years to Review Additional Designations... Administrative and Financial Support Provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government has developed a Population Decline Index to effectively respond to the crisis of population decline in regions and designated 89 cities, counties, and districts excluding Seoul as 'Population Decline Areas' based on this index. The government plans to support these areas with an annual budget of approximately 1 trillion won and establish a legal framework by enacting the 'Special Act on Support for Population Decline Areas.'

On the 18th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) announced that it designated and publicly notified 89 areas, including Dong-gu, Seo-gu, and Yeongdo-gu in Busan; Nam-gu and Seo-gu in Daegu; Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun in Incheon; and Gapyeong-gun and Yeoncheon-gun in Gyeonggi Province, as Population Decline Areas, and plans to provide administrative and financial support. The Population Decline Index, developed in collaboration with specialized research institutions, was compiled by reviewing ▲compliance with legal considerations, ▲objectivity of statistical data, and ▲representativeness in explaining population decline phenomena, and applying eight indicators including population growth rate, aging ratio, and crude birth rate.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol explained, "At the end of last year, the government amended the 'Special Act on Balanced National Development' to establish a legal basis for designating and supporting Population Decline Areas that urgently require assistance. Using the Population Decline Index, designed considering the complex causes of population decline, we designated 89 local governments."

MOIS included some areas within Gyeonggi and Incheon in the metropolitan area, where population decline is relatively severe excluding Seoul, and some autonomous districts within metropolitan cities suffering from urban hollowing in this designation, in accordance with the Special Act on Balanced National Development. Population Decline Areas will be designated every five years, but considering this is the first designation, the situation will be closely analyzed over the next two years to review whether additional designations are necessary.

MOIS plans to establish bottom-up population vitality plans led by the regions and implement customized policies. When local governments diagnose the causes of population decline and establish population vitality plans tailored to regional characteristics, the government will actively promote institutional support such as financial assistance through national subsidies and granting special exceptions.

The government will support the Local Extinction Response Fund with 1 trillion won annually for 10 years and inject resources such as national subsidies in a package form to support regional population decline response projects. MOIS plans to back various population vitality enhancement projects such as job creation, youth population inflow, and expansion of living population through the newly established Local Extinction Response Fund starting next year. Additionally, for 52 national subsidy projects worth 2.56 trillion won suitable for responding to population decline, MOIS will provide additional points in public contests, prioritize project allocation, and support inter-ministerial collaboration through region-specific dedicated projects to assist Population Decline Areas.

The enactment of the 'Special Act on Support for Population Decline Areas' is also underway. MOIS intends to accelerate legislative consultations with related ministries and the National Assembly to systematically and thoroughly establish support grounds including various financial, tax, and regulatory special exceptions, bottom-up promotion systems, and the concept of living population. Furthermore, to activate linkage and cooperation between regions and between regions and the central government, MOIS will encourage mutual cooperation such as establishing special local governments among local governments and actively support living area cooperation projects among multiple local governments using the Local Extinction Response Fund allocated to metropolitan local governments.

Minister Jeon said, "When Population Decline Areas and neighboring urban areas jointly promote projects in industries, jobs, tourism, and other fields, we will utilize the Local Extinction Response Fund and other resources," adding, "We will actively support high-level linkage and cooperation among local governments by utilizing newly introduced systems such as the 'Special Local Government' system."

Meanwhile, MOIS plans to continuously promote the local love gift certificate policy and swiftly prepare concrete implementation plans for the Hometown Love Donation System to accelerate revitalization of communities and economies in regions depressed by population decline.

Minister Jeon stated, "The designation of these Population Decline Areas marks a new starting point for government-level efforts to solve the population decline problem," and added, "We will make various efforts, including expanding customized special exceptions and policy development to support Population Decline Areas, so that this designation becomes a major turning point for increasing regional population vitality."

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