Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Ministry of SMEs and Startups Join Forces to Address Local Extinction

Regional Innovation Contest for Addressing Local Extinction

In the future, local governments will be able to receive support for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) support projects when establishing facilities for local job creation using the Local Extinction Response Fund.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 9th that they will operate a comprehensive inter-ministerial cooperation system to respond to local extinction and promote the "2024 Regional Innovation Contest Project for Local Extinction Response" until the 14th of next month.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plan to select a final 13 locations focusing on the effectiveness, efficiency, and feasibility of policies linked to the Local Extinction Response Fund. Local governments selected in the contest will receive preferential scores when distributing the "2024 Local Extinction Response Fund" and will additionally receive support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' regional projects and policy funds worth approximately 20 billion KRW.

Choi Hoon, Director of Local Autonomy Balanced Development at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "Policies that support the settlement and growth of local enterprises are essential to respond to local extinction and ensure sustainable regional development," adding, "We will continue to actively support the successful implementation of population decline response policies through inter-ministerial cooperation."