Five Central Ministries Join Hands to Overcome the Crisis of Local Extinction

Various Projects Linked to the Creation of 'Jiyeok Hwalryeok Town'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] On the 16th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that the five ministries will sign a business agreement tomorrow to create ‘Regional Vitality Towns’ to overcome the crisis of local extinction.

Regional Vitality Towns are projects that create residential complexes combining housing, culture, and welfare to support the settlement of retirees and young people in the region. The project targets population-declining areas experiencing the crisis of local extinction to enhance regional vitality.

To respond to population risks such as local extinction and super-aging faced by local communities and to realize the national goal of ‘a local era where it is good to live anywhere in the Republic of Korea,’ the five ministries including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will jointly sign an agreement and promote the project.

To resolve the complex crisis of local extinction caused by population decline and job reduction, comprehensive support without departmental barriers has been continuously demanded by various sectors. Until now, regional development projects have been individually promoted according to each ministry’s purpose, making linkage difficult, and the scale of each project was small, resulting in low performance and public perception. To address these issues and achieve national balanced development, the five ministries including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will collaborate to actively promote the creation of Regional Vitality Towns.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regional Vitality Towns are projects that provide demand-tailored residential hubs combining housing, culture, and welfare through multi-ministry collaboration to support continuous migration and settlement in local areas for retirees and young people from the metropolitan area who wish to settle in the provinces. Regional Vitality Towns plan to provide customized housing of various types (detached houses, townhouses, etc.) and supply methods (sale, rental), and integrally support essential living services such as culture and welfare through cooperation among related ministries. In particular, to resolve daily inconveniences, each ministry will offer linked support projects in a menu format, allowing local governments to select projects suitable for regional characteristics, establish plans, and receive integrated support from linked projects of each ministry if selected through a public contest.

To this end, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will oversee inter-ministerial cooperation, and related ministries will discover linked projects and cooperate to promote the project. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will support the establishment of the Regional Vitality Town base using funds such as the Local Extinction Response Fund, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will expand sports and cultural infrastructure such as national sports centers, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will systematically provide services such as care, health, and medical services, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will promote stable housing supply through housing and infrastructure support, regional development project permits, and urban regeneration projects, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will strive to provide jobs so that migrants can continue their occupational activities.

This year, the Regional Vitality Town project will be implemented for the first time by selecting target cities, counties, and districts through a public contest in the first half of the year for pilot application and plans to expand further next year. Afterwards, a regional investment development agreement will be signed between related ministries and local governments to finalize support contents and methods and commence the project.

Choi Hoon, Director of the Local Autonomy Balanced Development Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, “Taking the signing of the business agreement for the promotion of Regional Vitality Towns as an opportunity, we will respond to the crisis of local extinction through genuine collaboration that removes departmental barriers, and the government will continue to expand linked and cooperative fields such as jobs and tourism.”