K-Local Boom Era, 4 Major Settlement and 3 Major Care Policies
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] Gyeongbuk Province announced seven major projects to overcome the national crisis caused by local extinction. These are future policies aimed at leading the so-called ‘K-Local Golden Age.’
Regions excluding the metropolitan area are feeling a sense of crisis due to population decline. The threat of local extinction leads to a crisis for the Republic of Korea. In 2021, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designated 89 out of 228 cities, counties, and districts nationwide as population decline areas. Among them, 85 (95.5%) are non-metropolitan areas, indicating that local regions face a serious risk of extinction.
According to Statistics Korea, if the population decline in South Korea continues as is, the population of 51 million at the end of last year will decrease to 38 million by 2070 and 17 million by 2700, reaching a national crisis.
The population decline caused by the outflow of local youth and suicides is collapsing regional universities and local economies, leading to local extinction and threatening to bring down South Korea as well. The outflow of youth from Gyeongbuk has reached a very serious level. Approximately 9,000 people leave for Seoul and the metropolitan area every year, equivalent to the population of Ulleung County.
This year, there are 23 elementary schools nationwide (105 schools nationwide) with no new students, and schools with fewer than 10 graduates account for 25%, or one in four schools, leading to a break in new students, school closures, and school shutdowns.
If this continues, of the 385 universities nationwide as of the end of last year, only about 190 will remain in 20 years.
Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, pointed out, “Currently, jobs and companies are concentrated in the metropolitan area, so young people leave to find jobs there. Youth do not come down below Yongin City.”
The governor said, “The biggest cause of local extinction is that students and young people leave for the metropolitan area and large cities to enjoy education, employment, and cultural life. To keep young people living in local areas, even if they graduate from local universities and get jobs at local companies, we must guarantee incomes at the level of large companies like Samsung and create an environment where they can enjoy life as in Seoul.”
In response to these concerns, Gyeongbuk Province designated this year as ‘the year to realize a definite local era.’ It also established the Gyeongsangbuk-do Local Era Policy Bureau on January 1 this year, the first in Korea and the only one among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide.
This policy bureau presented the ‘K-Local 7 Major Projects from Cradle to Grave’ at a work report on the 25th of last month.
The K-Local 7 Major Projects are summarized as seven ‘life recycling’ policies combining four major residential revolutions and three major complete care revolutions.
The seven revolutions are: ?Education Support Revolution, ?Employment Support Revolution, ?Housing Support Revolution, ?Marriage Support Revolution, ?Childbirth Support Revolution, ?Childcare Support Revolution, and ?Care Support Revolution.
This is an unprecedented and unique policy to establish a local residential era that covers the entire life cycle from cradle to grave.
The governor emphasized, “We will first establish the four major residential revolution policies this year, design strategic tasks and detailed projects in the first half of the year, and by the end of the year, allocate a budget of about 300 billion won, which is 10% of the available 3 trillion won, to implement policies and execute the budget from next year.”
He also announced, “We will prioritize implementing the four major residential revolution policies to prevent the outflow of local students and youth to the metropolitan area and settle them locally, followed by the three major complete care policies to overcome population extinction and make a major transition to a local residential era.”
Among the seven revolutions, the first of the four major residential revolutions is the Education Support Revolution.
Vocational high schools, where students can succeed with just a high school diploma, will train customized personnel needed by companies. University professors will be in charge, teaching theory in the second year and practical training in the third year, enabling students to be employed directly in the corporate field without an internship, with wages supported at the level of university graduate salaries.
Military service exemptions will also be supported, and bonuses will be paid upon return from military service. In the future, when obtaining a bachelor’s degree, wages at the level of large companies will be supported.
Universities will establish specialized departments to nurture talent needed by companies, linking one city/county-one university regional strategic industries with university specialized departments. Students in regional strategic departments will receive full tuition support, and after graduation, they will be employed directly by regional strategic companies.
The second is the Employment Support Revolution. Those employed by regional strategic companies will receive wages at the level of large companies, and companies will be supported with corporate growth funds such as R&D equivalent to the wage difference at the large company level.
The third is the Housing Support Revolution. Youth employed by strategic companies will receive housing stability support for 10 years, including LH rental apartments, remodeling of vacant houses, and housing rent subsidies, so they can settle without worrying about housing.
The fourth is the Marriage Support Revolution. Youth employed by strategic companies who receive large company-level salaries and enjoy a comfortable life and stable housing will be provided with a marriage encouragement loan of 50 million won over 10 years.
Additionally, the fifth is the Childbirth Support Revolution, the sixth is the Childcare Support Revolution, and the seventh is the Care Support Revolution.
Gyeongbuk Province plans to provide seamless support through a complete care three-package welfare policy, including postpartum care helper support, zero household burden for child care, and the 119 Child Happiness Care Center.
A Gyeongbuk Province official stated that to prepare specific implementation plans, the K-Local 7 Major Projects TF Promotion Team will discover strategic tasks with experts from national research institutes and the Gyeongbuk Research Institute in each project field.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, “Gyeongsangbuk-do will take the lead in opening a definite local era by strongly and continuously supporting policies to lead the local era of the Republic of Korea.”
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