Government Identifies 'Customized Birth and Childcare Policies' in Local Governments Responding to Low Birthrate

Promotion of Local Government Low Birthrate Response Project Contest and Best Practice Competition
22 Billion KRW Support for 16 Local Governments This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 13th that it will actively support low birthrate response policies tailored to local conditions and promote the sharing of best practices to overcome the low birthrate problem in our society. This project was prepared to overcome the low birthrate phenomenon with a total fertility rate of 0.84 and to actively respond to the population decline crisis.

The Ministry plans to support 1.5 billion KRW to 5 local governments through a public contest in the first half of the year, and 700 million KRW to 11 local governments through a best practice competition in the second half, providing a total of 2.2 billion KRW in project funds to 16 local governments this year.

Local governments wishing to participate in the first half public contest should discover leading projects to overcome low birthrate that fit regional characteristics and field demands, and submit applications by May 14. After screening, five local governments will be finally selected in July. This low birthrate response project contest will focus on ?preferential treatment for population decline areas, ?diversification of types, ?linkage with living SOC, and ?expansion of resident participation. In particular, additional points will be awarded as preferential measures for population decline areas to respond to the seriousness of the local population decline problem.

The second half best practice competition plans to select 11 local governments in September after screening submissions of excellent cases among the ‘low birthrate response policies’ promoted by each local government this year by July 30.

Park Seong-ho, Director of the Local Autonomy and Decentralization Office, said, “The low birthrate problem is a major task that must be solved for our future,” adding, “Each local government will discover creative projects reflecting local conditions, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will support them so that the central and local governments can actively work together to overcome the low birthrate problem.”