20 Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter Employees Registered
Support Greatly Increased Amid Population Drop from 100,000 to 30,000
Youngpoong Corporation's Seokpo Smelter joined the "Bonghwa Love Address Registration" campaign, a key initiative promoted by Bonghwa County, Gyeongbuk Province, on the 31st.
Starting with 15 people, including Seokpo Smelter Manager Bae Sang-yoon, who visited the Seokpo-myeon Office on the 30th to register their residence, the smelter is actively encouraging all employees to transfer their addresses to Bonghwa County. As of this day, it is reported that about 20 employees have completed their address registration.
This is because Bonghwa County, where the Seokpo Smelter is located, is currently facing a serious risk of regional extinction due to low birth rates, aging population, and continuous population outflow.
Employees of Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter are participating in the 'Bonghwa Love Address Campaign' at the Seokpo Township Office and registering their change of address. (From left in the photo: Bae Sang-yoon, Seokpo Smelter Manager; Kang Cheol-hee, Labor Union Chairman; Ahn Woo-sang, Headquarters Director)
Until the 1970s, Bonghwa County had a population of over 100,000, but by 2022, it had decreased to 30,139. This year, it is expected that the population will fall below 30,000.
In response, Bonghwa County launched the "Bonghwa Love Address Registration" campaign to encourage residents living in the Bonghwa area who have not yet registered their residence for various reasons to transfer their addresses. The Seokpo Smelter sympathized with this purpose and actively joined the campaign.
As a measure to counter population decline, Bonghwa County provides a welcome payment of 300,000 KRW to residents who register their address, as well as congratulatory payments (1 million KRW once) and childcare support funds upon childbirth. The childcare support funds are 6 million KRW for the first child, 9 million KRW for the second, 15 million KRW for the third, and 18 million KRW for the fourth and subsequent children.
In addition to the benefits provided by Bonghwa County, the Seokpo Smelter independently offers a 100,000 KRW welcome payment for address registration, 300,000 KRW support upon childbirth, and a congratulatory payment of 1 million KRW for the birth of the third or subsequent children.
The Seokpo Smelter expects that participating in the "Bonghwa Love Address Registration" campaign will contribute to overcoming the regional extinction crisis. While the population of Bonghwa County continues to decline, the number of smelter employees and their families has been increasing every year.
The number of Seokpo Smelter employees, which was 230 in 2000, steadily increased to 499 in 2012 and 576 in 2023. The number of employees' family members grew more than fourfold over about 20 years, from 504 in 2000 to 1,120 in 2012, and currently 2,316 in 2023.
Consequently, the total number of students at Seokpo Elementary School also increased from 88 in 2016 to 110 in 2017 and has steadily maintained numbers in the 100s since then. Seokpo Elementary School is the only elementary school in the township-level areas of Bonghwa County with over 100 students.
A Youngpoong Seokpo Smelter official said, "Although some employees have not transferred their addresses to Bonghwa County due to personal reasons while working at the smelter, we will actively encourage address transfers to help overcome the regional extinction crisis."
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