Yeosu City to Invest 223 Billion Won in Municipal Funds... Launches 'Direct Response to Population Crisis'

Four Strategies and 159 Projects Under the Population Policy Implementation Plan
Achieving Harmony and Coexistence Among Diverse Families

Yeosu City in South Jeolla Province has established the '2026 Population Policy Implementation Plan' to actively respond to the population decline crisis, investing a total of 223 billion won of municipal funds to fully implement 159 detailed projects.

This implementation plan was reorganized and supplemented based on the results of the basic population policy plan established in 2024. It has been systematized into four strategic tasks: residential stabilization (Happiness Recharge, Shelter), economic stabilization (Future Recharge, Dream Center), educational stabilization (Knowledge Recharge, Learning Center), and living stabilization (Culture Recharge, Play Space).

Yeosu City has established the "2026 Population Policy Implementation Plan" to actively respond to the population decline crisis, investing a total of 223 billion KRW in city funds to fully implement 159 detailed projects. Provided by Yeosu City

Out of the total of 159 projects, 23 are new projects and 25 are designated as core projects.

The main core projects include the children's library lifestyle SOC complex development project, attracting public institutions to serve as a hub for the southern coastal region, establishing and operating a one-stop support center for small business owners, and launching a public contest for youth village creation projects.

The city has set policy goals that go beyond population maintenance to include strengthening future competitiveness by actively responding to the population decline crisis, creating a city attractive to young people, building a city where women are happy, fostering the coexistence of diverse families, and promoting the inflow of the daily population.

◆ Active Response to the Population Decline Crisis

In July 2024, the city established the Youth Population Policy Division and has since expanded policies that are directly felt in daily life. However, due to structural factors such as jobs and housing conditions last year, there was a net outflow of 3,800 young residents.

Accordingly, the city plans to focus its administrative resources on preventing the outflow of young people to other regions, enhancing the competitiveness of the Yeosu Industrial Complex, and addressing employment crises. In particular, with the upcoming launch of the special autonomous province, the city intends to further strengthen policy implementation and performance management.

In addition, Yeosu City will actively respond to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's plan to supplement population indicators in preparation for the second designation of population decline areas in October. The city also plans to continuously propose institutional improvements and special exemptions so that the characteristics of cities with both urban and rural features are fully reflected.

◆ Creating a City Attractive to Young People

To address the decline in the youth population caused by the economic slowdown in the Yeosu Industrial Complex and the burden of real estate costs, the city is preparing to restructure the national industrial complex and attract investment centered on future new growth companies to create quality jobs.

Support for young entrepreneurs will be expanded, and policies to support the linkage between jobs and housing as well as easing the initial housing cost burden will be strengthened. The city also plans to expand support for those planning to move in from other regions to attract more young residents.

◆ Building a City Where Women Are Happy

The city will strengthen comprehensive support across all stages of life, from pregnancy and childbirth to child-rearing and care. It will encourage the activation of fatherhood communities and the spread of shared parenting culture to promote the sharing of caregiving responsibilities, while also working to reduce the burden of housework on women and expand job opportunities for women with career experience.

Furthermore, the city will promote the spread of family-friendly companies that support a work-life balance and increase participation from both private companies and public institutions to enhance the quality of life for women.

◆ Fostering the Coexistence of Diverse Families

The city aims to build a foundation where diverse family types, including youth, seniors, women, and foreigners, are respected and can live stably. Policies tailored to different household types will be strengthened to respond to the increase in single-person households and the growing number of foreign residents, and support for foreign residents to settle in the region will also be expanded.

◆ Promoting Inflow of the Daily Population

The city plans to expand the resident daily population by linking industry, tourism, and residential environments, thereby creating a virtuous cycle for the local economy.

In particular, the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo will be used as an opportunity to host large-scale cultural, artistic, and sports events, aiming to increase the daily population and further revitalize the local economy.

A city official stated, "Population is a key indicator that determines the future of a city," adding, "This implementation plan will be a systematic action plan that goes beyond crisis response, providing a foundation for young people to return and for women and diverse families to live stably." The official also emphasized, "We will build Yeosu into a city where people gather and choose to stay."

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