Namwon-si Holds 'Declaration Ceremony for Attracting 100,000 Daily Population'

On the 9th, Namwon City in Jeonbuk announced that it held a proclamation ceremony in the city hall conference room to attract 100,000 living population and enhance regional vitality in response to population decline.

The proclamation ceremony was attended by about 30 people including the mayor, vice mayor, and senior officials, with the vision of “Small but Strong Connections, a Vibrant Namwon through Living Population,” pledging to make attracting 100,000 living population in 2024 the top priority of city administration.

Namwon City held a declaration ceremony to attract a floating population of 100,000 people on the 9th at the city hall conference room.
[Photo by Namwon City]

Previously, the city identified 22 key tasks to attract not only the resident population but also related persons such as affiliates, expatriates, policy customers, hometown love donors, and visitors who contribute to the actual vitality of the region as living population.

The main initiatives include ▲activation of Namwon Digital Tourism Resident Card ▲operation of Jirisan area workation program ▲promotion of revisit by visitors to experiential leisure villages ▲expansion of Namwon honorary citizenship and active incentives ▲working holiday program for foreign international students, among others.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to calculate the living population quarterly for population-declining areas starting next year and provide grants and administrative and financial support tailored to the characteristics of the living population.

Accordingly, the city plans to focus on attracting living population as a goal in all policy establishments, aiming to attract 150,000 by 2025 and 200,000 by 2026.

In addition, the city is constructing a public postpartum care center (8.1 billion KRW) and Talent Academy (20 billion KRW) to revitalize the living population and improve the residential environment, and is developing Hampau Art Valley (300 billion KRW) to create a stay-type tourist destination.

Furthermore, leading the regional vitality town contest project (22 billion KRW) to create 78 housing units for returnees to farming and rural areas and retirees, the city is building a 5,000-household retiree village utilizing livestock genetic resource sites and improving residential conditions in seven rural townships (Suji, Jusaeng, Deokgwa, Daesan, Geumji, Daegang, Sandong) through the rural agreement project (38.7 billion KRW), overcoming the population extinction crisis, strengthening competitiveness, and completing a big picture to nurture Namwon’s future.

Mayor Choi Kyung-sik said, “We will set the top priority of city administration to population increase and regional economic recovery, and reorganize all policies into population increase policies such as improving residential conditions and attracting living population,” adding, “We will strive to make Namwon a city that meets citizens’ expectations and demands through smooth implementation of various population vitality policies.”

Namwon = Jeong Young-kwon, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy baekok@asiae.co.kr