FKI Proposes "Baby Boomer Regional Economy Boom-Up" for Local Revitalization

Building a Win-Win and Virtuous Cycle Through Baby Boomer Relocation to Rural Areas
Support Measures Including Job Matching Platforms and Relocation Incentives
Job-Linked Stay-Type Housing and Eased Housing Pension Requirements
Proposals for Income Support and Enhanced Living Infrastructure for Relocators

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) announced on November 26 that it has submitted a proposal to the government, including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, to promote the "Baby Boomer Regional Economy Boom-Up Project" aimed at revitalizing local communities.

This proposal is part of the "Baby Boomer Regional Economy Boom-Up Project," which seeks to address the triple challenges facing Korean society: a declining working-age population, the intensifying risk of local extinction, and labor shortages at regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The FKI has argued that if baby boomers who have retired or are about to retire from the Seoul metropolitan area find employment at regional SMEs and relocate to these areas, it can create a virtuous cycle where people (baby boomers), spaces (local small and medium-sized cities), and companies (regional SMEs) all regain vitality.

According to the FKI, if baby boomers return to rural areas, those who retire from their jobs around the age of 55 can secure a stable income base during the approximately 10-year income gap before they begin receiving the national pension at age 65 by working at regional SMEs, allowing them to plan a comfortable retirement in the region. The FKI also believes that the relocation of baby boomers can help ease population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area, boost local consumption, and increase local tax revenues, thereby contributing to the revitalization of regional economies. Moreover, regional SMEs suffering from labor shortages due to the outflow of young people can fill their workforce gaps and enhance management stability by hiring highly educated and skilled baby boomers.

The FKI emphasized in its proposal that comprehensive support is necessary to realize this vision, including job opportunities, housing, and living infrastructure. It called for an integrated, cross-ministerial approach, with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Employment and Labor responsible for jobs, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for housing, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for living infrastructure.

The FKI also proposed eight policy tasks across three key areas (jobs, housing, and living) to promote the relocation of baby boomers to rural areas.

Regarding jobs, the FKI suggested expanding and reorganizing the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' "Corporate Workforce Support Center Platform" into a "Relocation-Linked Job Matching Platform" to provide integrated information on local relocation by municipalities and to establish a two-way matching system between relocating baby boomers and regional companies, thereby strengthening employment connections. It also recommended adding a new item to the evaluation criteria for government-run SME support programs to grant additional points to regional SMEs that hire people who have relocated from outside the Seoul metropolitan area, thus actively encouraging such hiring. The FKI further proposed developing a dual-track (settlement and employment) education program tailored to relocating baby boomers, combining settlement guides and adaptation training with job and technical education.

For housing, the FKI suggested job-linked and stay-type housing, special admission privileges for public housing, and easing the requirements for housing pensions. Regarding living, it recommended expanding the scope of the senior employment subsidy program to include people who relocate to non-metropolitan provinces, and improving the system so that corporate subsidies can be used to supplement employee wages. The proposal also included the need to enhance living infrastructure such as medical care, education, and cultural facilities.

Lee Sangho, Head of the Economic and Industrial Division at the FKI, stated, "Our economy needs to respond proactively to the risk of local extinction amid a major demographic shift caused by low birth rates and an aging population. The 'Baby Boomer Regional Economy Boom-Up Project,' which promotes the employment of retired baby boomers from the Seoul metropolitan area at regional companies, is one solution to overcoming the national population and economic crisis and requires active interest and support at the government-wide level."

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