Kim Deok-hyun, Yeoncheon County Governor, Submits Key Local Extinction Issues to Ministry of the Interior and Safety

Kim Deok-hyun, the governor of Yeoncheon County, attended the 4th Executive Meeting of the Population Decline Areas·Mayors·County Governors·District Heads Council held on the 28th at the Sejong Local Autonomy Hall's main conference room, where he proposed key issues of Yeoncheon County to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to overcome the local extinction crisis, including the 'Special Measures for Utilizing Unused Military Lands' and the 'Prompt Establishment of Guidelines for Designating Opportunity Development Zones in the Metropolitan Area.'

Kim Deok-hyun, Governor of Yeoncheon County, attended the 4th Executive Meeting of the Population Declining Areas, Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads Council held on the 28th at the Sejong Local Autonomy Hall's main conference room, where he submitted Yeoncheon County's key issues to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to overcome the crisis of local extinction. Provided by Yeoncheon County

At the meeting, eight heads of cities and counties, including Yeoncheon County and Goesan County, along with central government officials such as Kim Min-jae, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, gathered to convey various policies for responding to local extinction in population decline areas to the Ministry, and in-depth discussions on countermeasures for the local extinction crisis continued.

Governor Kim Deok-hyun proposed to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety various practical issues that could benefit population decline areas, including △ a special procedural improvement to promptly utilize unused military lands generated by troop reductions and military unit relocations as large-scale housing projects or other local extinction response projects △ the prompt establishment of guidelines for applying for Opportunity Development Zones in the metropolitan area and border regions, where development is restricted due to various regulations and underdevelopment is severe △ and a request for the Ministry's support to ensure that special measures for population decline areas, currently being promoted and discussed by central government agencies, are applied swiftly.

Governor Kim Deok-hyun stated, “The population decline crisis is not a problem for local governments alone; it can only be overcome through close cooperation between central government agencies and local governments,” adding, “We expect the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the council to actively review the special measures for population decline areas and implement them as soon as possible.”

Kim Min-jae, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “We will actively review the various policies proposed to serve as a catalyst to overcome the population decline crisis.”