Gyeongbuk Province Achieves Nationwide Highest Selection for Rural Cooperative Contest Two Years in a Row... Yeongju, Chilgok, Yecheon, and Uljin Secure Total National Funding of 190 Billion Won

Priority Selection for 2023 Rural Spatial Improvement Project, Expecting Synergy Effects

Rural Agreement Public Offering Industry Consulting Meeting Held.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Gyeongbuk Province secured 190 billion KRW in national funding as it had the highest number of four selected cities/counties (Yeongju, Chilgok, Yecheon, Uljin) among the eight cities and provinces nationwide chosen in this year’s Rural Agreement contest hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Rural Agreement is a project where cities/counties lead in establishing development directions for rural living areas, aiming to achieve common rural policies such as building 365 living zones through joint investment by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and provincial and local governments.

The “365 living zone” means guaranteeing access within 30 minutes to basic living services such as health, childcare, and retail; within 60 minutes to complex services including culture, education, and medical care; and establishing an emergency response system within 5 minutes.

Since Sangju City was first selected in the pilot Rural Agreement contest introduced in 2020, four counties were selected last year.

This year, with four cities/counties selected again, national funding of 120 billion KRW (30 billion KRW per city/county) was secured, and the cities/counties selected for the Rural Agreement are automatically chosen for the Ministry’s 2023 Rural Spatial Maintenance Project without a separate contest procedure, securing an additional 70 billion KRW (17.5 billion KRW per city/county), totaling 190 billion KRW (47.5 billion KRW per city/county) in national funding.

Thus, with the launch of the 8th local government administration, a solid driving force was secured for regional rural development, including regeneration of rural spaces and improvement of residential conditions according to the rural spatial strategic plan and rural living area revitalization plan.

The four selected cities/counties will undergo supplementation and approval procedures for the rural spatial strategic plan and rural living area revitalization plan and then conclude the Rural Agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Starting next year, up to 47.5 billion KRW in national funding and 8.3 billion KRW in provincial funding per city/county, totaling 78 billion KRW in project costs, will be invested annually over five years.

In this regard, the province held a “Meeting to Establish Key Promotion Plans for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Contest” in January this year with external expert groups such as the Central Planning Support Group and the Metropolitan Planning Support Group.

Since March, a Rural Agreement Contest Promotion Team led by Director Kim Jongsu of the Agriculture, Livestock and Distribution Bureau was formed, and through about ten sessions of intensive expert consultations, Q&A, and presentations with external experts including university professors and public institution researchers, as well as city/county department heads, proactive responses were made to the 2022 Rural Agreement national funding contest.

The province is enacting ordinances supporting general agricultural and fishing village development projects to provide institutional grounds for stable promotion of rural and fishing village development projects and administrative and financial support, and to reduce the financial burden on cities/counties, it supports 10% of national funding with provincial funds even though it is not a matching project.

Also, from the second half of this year, to prepare for next year’s Rural Agreement contest, the province plans to hold city/county preparatory meetings, provide professional education and step-by-step advisory services through external experts (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Central Planning Support Group, etc.), and establish rural spatial strategic, revitalization, and maintenance plans.

Through this, the province aims to make every effort to have four or more cities/counties selected in the contest from next year and envisions all 13 cities/counties planning to apply for the Rural Agreement contest to be selected.

Kim Jongsu, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Distribution Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “With this contest selection, we can comprehensively plan rural development projects essential to the region and achieve shared goals together with central and local governments,” adding, “It is expected to effectively respond to the local era of the 8th local government administration and greatly help enhance the economic vitality of our rural areas and regional development.”

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