The Aspiration of Gapyeong Residents, 'Designation of Gapyeong County Border Area' Nears Reality

The long-cherished wish of over 63,000 Gapyeong residents for the designation of Gapyeong-gun as a border area is now becoming a reality. This achievement is notable as it was attained through the active “Range Area Designation Urging Pan-Citizen Signature Campaign” led by Gapyeong-gun (Governor Seo Tae-won) and its residents.

Seo Taewon, Gapyeong County Governor, is conducting a "Countywide Signature Campaign Urging Designation of Border Areas." Provided by Gapyeong County

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On the 12th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it will begin a 40-day legislative notice from the 13th to partially amend the enforcement decree of the “Special Act on Support for Border Areas” to additionally designate Gapyeong-gun in Gyeonggi Province and Sokcho-si in Gangwon Province as border areas.

Until now, although Gapyeong-gun shares similar geographical conditions with other border area cities and counties, it was excluded from the border area designation and thus deprived of various support benefits, which had been pointed out as a problem. Accordingly, the draft amendment includes adding Gapyeong-gun and Sokcho-si to the existing 15 designated border areas.

Once designated as a border area, Gapyeong-gun is expected to receive more than 25 billion KRW annually in financial support from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, including local allocation tax. Additionally, under the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s “Second Home Special Taxation” benefits, a single homeowner in non-population-decreasing areas such as Seoul who acquires one house in Gapyeong-gun will be recognized as a single homeowner, thus qualifying for tax benefits on capital gains tax, comprehensive real estate tax, property tax, and more. This is expected to significantly improve living conditions felt by residents, activate housing transactions, and increase the living population in Gapyeong-gun.

To expedite the designation as a border area, Gapyeong-gun conducted a pan-citizen signature campaign from April 22 to the end of June, achieving a high signature rate of 71.5% (45,370 people), far exceeding the initial goal of 50% of the total residents.

In particular, Governor Seo Tae-won and National Assembly member Kim Yong-tae met with the Minister of the Interior and Safety based on the results of the signature campaign reflecting the residents’ wishes, requesting active interest and support from central government ministries.

The residents are also warmly welcoming the amendment to the enforcement decree for the border area designation.

Jang Dong-won, Chairman of the Korea Senior Citizens Association Gapyeong Branch, said, “Gapyeong-gun should have naturally been included and supported when the Border Area Support Act was enacted, but it is very regrettable that we did not receive benefits for 24 years. Now that the government is designating Gapyeong-gun as a border area, I am truly happy as this will be a driving force for Gapyeong-gun to take a leap forward.”

Governor Seo Tae-won stated, “The designation of Gapyeong-gun as a border area, the wish of over 63,000 Gapyeong residents, is finally becoming a reality. This is the result of our united efforts, so I first thank all the residents, and also express gratitude to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and government officials who worked hard for the designation.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety completed prior consultations with related ministries such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs last October, and plans to collect various opinions from the public and stakeholders during the 40-day legislative notice period until January 22 next year to reflect them in the amendment.

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