Ministry of the Interior and Safety Finalizes 'Village Enterprise Revitalization Plan'... Expansion to 3,500 by 2030

Creating a New Local Economic Foundation Through Fostering One Village One Village Enterprise

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Village enterprises, which lead the revitalization of local economies and play a significant role in restoring local communities, will be established in every village by 2030.

On the 12th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced at the 8th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting that it has finalized development plans to revitalize village enterprises and aims to foster 'one village, one village enterprise' to make them the center of local economies. Since their introduction in 2011, 1,556 village enterprises have been operating nationwide, gaining attention as a sustainable model for restoring village communities and balanced regional development.

The development plan focuses on further strengthening the communal nature and creating village enterprises in every village nationwide, with the goal of expanding the number of village enterprises to 3,500 over the next 10 years.

Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to focus on strengthening the identity of village enterprises such as community characteristics, discovering village enterprises, promoting stable development through expanding sales channels, and establishing systems and infrastructure including the enactment of the Village Enterprise Promotion Support Act.

First, to further strengthen the communal nature, the weight of community characteristics will be increased during the village enterprise evaluation, and improvements will be made so that communities actively engaged in village-making and other community activities can become village enterprises.

Additionally, support will be provided by subdividing types according to the business nature of village enterprises to allow tailored assistance. Through this, enterprises processing and selling local specialties or those providing social services such as education and welfare to local residents can receive support suited to their respective characteristics.

To continuously expand village enterprises, activation will be promoted in connection with residents' autonomous councils, which are village residents' self-governing bodies, and various community-related projects promoted by government ministries and local governments will be actively linked and discovered as village enterprises.

Furthermore, in areas such as farming and fishing villages where the youth population is declining, the designation requirements for youth village enterprises will be relaxed to support youth becoming another key actor in village enterprises.

Meanwhile, to diversify sales channels for village enterprises, the ministry plans to build local promotion and sales networks in connection with apartment communities, mom cafes, women's associations, etc., and expand sales networks such as regional distribution support centers. To establish the legal and institutional foundation for village enterprises, the ministry will actively promote the enactment of the Village Enterprise Promotion Support Act, which is currently pending in the National Assembly, and enhance support systems including intermediary support organizations.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol stated, “We plan to support village enterprises that contain each village's unique stories and residents' needs to grow,” adding, “I hope village enterprises can become a driving force that revitalizes depressed local communities and leads the restoration of local communities.”