Yeongju Selected for Neighborhood Commercial District Development Project... Revitalizing the Old Downtown Business Area

Establishing Governance and Developing Mid- to Long-Term Strategies for Commercial Districts

Yeongju City announced on the 16th that it has been finally selected for the "2025 Neighborhood Commercial District Development Center" project, hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, securing a total of 130 million KRW, including 65 million KRW in government funding. This selection serves as a foundation to revitalize the stagnant old downtown commercial district and establish a sustainable commercial ecosystem.

The "Neighborhood Commercial District Development Center" is a government-funded project aimed at fostering self-sustaining local commercial districts by establishing governance in which residents and merchants participate together, and by providing various programs such as region-specific consulting and merchant training.

This year, 50 basic local governments nationwide formed consortiums and participated in the contest, and among them, 16 commercial districts (local governments) were finally selected. Yeongju City is among the selected and will begin full-scale project implementation.

Through this project, Yeongju City plans to create a "Modern Gastronomy Road" that connects the modern historical and cultural streets of the old downtown with century-old stores and long-standing shops, aiming to revitalize the surrounding commercial districts by attracting tourists.

The project will be carried out from April to December 2025 and will include ▲establishing neighborhood commercial district governance ▲enhancing merchant capabilities through education and tailored consulting ▲developing local history and culture into storytelling content ▲commercializing the "Modern Gastronomy Road" as a tourism product ▲establishing a five-year mid- to long-term action plan. In particular, a participatory model in which residents and merchants proactively identify and solve commercial district issues will also lay the groundwork for expanding next year's commercial district revitalization projects.

Kim Wonseop, Head of the Yeongju City Job and Economy Division, said, "The selection for this project will be a turning point that breathes new life into Yeongju City's alleyway commercial districts," adding, "We will further invigorate the local economy through a sustainable commercial ecosystem built together by residents and merchants."