Jinju-si Selected for Daedong District Rural Saetteul Village Project Competition

Selected for 2 Consecutive Years Following Last Year, Securing 80% of National Road Funding
Juyuil Jo, Jinju Mayor, Visits Daedong Village to Encourage Residents and Officials

Joo Kyu-il, Mayor of Jinju City, is encouraging the related officials during his visit to Daedong Village.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Jinju City, Gyeongnam Province, announced on the 4th that Daedong District in Ibanseong-myeon was selected for the 2021 Vulnerable Area Living Conditions Improvement Project (hereinafter referred to as the Rural Saetteul Village Project) contest hosted by the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development (hereinafter referred to as the Balanced Committee), despite difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The selected Daedong District in Ibanseong-myeon was finally chosen after local government competition procedures including on-site inspections and preliminary evaluations by Gyeongsangnam-do, and face-to-face evaluations by the Balanced Committee. A total project cost of 1.8 billion KRW (approximately 80% national and provincial funding) is planned to be invested by 2024.

The city expects that, following the selection of Okbong District in 2015, Bibong District in 2016, Yugok District in 2019 for urban Saetteul projects, and Sinchon District in Ilbanseong-myeon in 2020, being selected for the contest two years in a row in rural areas will transform the underdeveloped rural villages into new appearances and revitalize the stagnant atmosphere.

The Rural Saetteul Village Project, hosted by the Balanced Committee, is a project aimed at improving the quality of life for residents in areas with poor residential environments by creating living infrastructure, improving village environments, and housing maintenance. It is a resident-led, bottom-up project in which residents participate directly from the project planning and contest stages, with up to 1.5 billion KRW supported based on national funding standards.

Accordingly, from this year until 2024, projects such as maintenance of old houses, hillside retaining wall repairs, village environment improvements, resident capacity building, and crime prevention will be promoted in Daedong District.

On the morning of the 4th, Jinju Mayor Cho Gyu-il visited the village to encourage residents and said, “Despite the difficult conditions due to COVID-19, the project was selected in the government contest as a result of the residents’ active participation will and the efforts of the province and our city.” He added, “We will spare no support so that the contest project will develop the underdeveloped village into a vibrant and hopeful prosperous village where it is good to live.”

Meanwhile, Daedong District in Ibanseong-myeon has 50 households and 91 residents, with a relatively high proportion of houses over 30 years old and slate roofs, making improvement of the village living environment urgently necessary.