Ministry of the Interior and Safety Distributes 'Local Extinction Response Fund' for the First Time to Overcome Population Decline Crisis

Determination of Allocation Amounts by Local Governments and Promotion of Outstanding Case Discovery and Dissemination

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Local Finance Association announced on the 16th that they have decided the distribution amounts of the Local Extinction Response Fund for basic and metropolitan local governments.

The Local Extinction Response Fund will be supported with an annual government contribution of 1 trillion won for the next 10 years starting this year, with 75% of the resources allocated to basic local governments and 25% to metropolitan local governments respectively. Basic local governments establish investment plans for utilizing the fund, and an evaluation team appointed by the Korea Local Finance Association objectively assessed the investment plans based on criteria such as project excellence, plan connectivity, and appropriateness of the implementation system.

The Local Extinction Response Fund is distributed without omission to all population decline areas and areas of interest to support responses to the crisis of local extinction and population decline. According to the five evaluation grades derived from the investment plan evaluation, more funds will be differentially allocated to population decline areas and areas of interest that have discovered excellent fund projects.

This year, five local governments (four population decline areas and one area of interest) received the maximum allocation amount and were highly evaluated in terms of project excellence, plan connectivity, and appropriateness of the implementation system.

Each local government discovered projects that stand out for excellence and originality across various fields such as industry and jobs, housing, education, culture, and tourism based on thorough analysis of local conditions and environment.

Geumsan-gun, Chungnam Province, is promoting the ‘Healing and Therapeutic Workation and Rural Study Hub Creation’ project, highlighting the concept of healing and therapy for urban residents by utilizing local forest resources. While establishing hub facilities in Baekamsan and other areas, various cultural and tourism programs such as healing forest experiences, rural experience villages, and mountain flower festivals that urban residents can enjoy will also be introduced. Shinan-gun, Jeonnam Province, considering local conditions, is building the ‘Robinson Crusoe University,’ an island living education center to support the settlement of incoming population, creating educational facilities using closed schools, developing ‘Island Leader Training’ courses, and strengthening international cooperation with Pacific island countries.

Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, is promoting the ‘Youth Workshop’ project that combines the recently spotlighted Metaverse with local food. While supporting dining startups using local agricultural products by creating food courts and startup community spaces, it maximizes marketing effects by establishing promotional and experiential spaces applying the Metaverse platform. Hamyang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, reflecting the needs of local residents, expects to improve residential conditions and expand the living population through the construction of the ‘Hamyang Nui (for Everyone) Center,’ where various services such as care, education, culture, and job support can be integrated and enjoyed.

The Korea Local Finance Association will notify each local government of the allocated amount, and local governments will adjust their investment plans according to the allocation amount and finalize the investment plans after the approval of the cooperative meeting.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will hold workshops from September to enhance local government capabilities and continuously discover and spread excellent cases, and will promote a contest for excellent cases including special grants for outstanding local governments.

Minister Lee Sang-min said, “I hope that the Local Extinction Response Fund, implemented for the first time this year, will serve as a catalyst for local governments to proactively respond to the crisis of population decline and local extinction,” and added, “The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will provide various administrative and financial support, not only through the Local Extinction Response Fund but also through other means, to help local governments overcome the extinction crisis.”