Gangwon Province Grants First-in-the-Nation Approval for Hoengseong County's 'Basic Plan for Rural Space Restructuring'

Gangwon Province Approves Hoengseong County's Basic Plan for Rural Space
Reviewed and Passed by Gangwon Regional Rural Space Policy Deliberation Committee
The Birth of "Remarkable Progress for Hoengseong" with 574.1 Billion KRW Investment
A New Beginning as a Place to Live, Work, and Rest... A Signal for Rural Regeneration

On December 19, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province announced that it had approved Hoengseong County's 'Basic Plan for Rural Space Restructuring and Regeneration Support'-the first of its kind in the province-after a review by the Regional Rural Space Policy Deliberation Committee, in accordance with the 'Act on the Restructuring and Regeneration Support of Rural Spaces.' With this approval, Hoengseong County has established an institutional foundation to participate in various rural area development projects promoted by the central government.

Hoengseong County 'Basic Plan for Rural Space Restructuring and Regeneration Support'. Provided by Gangwon Province

The Basic Plan for Rural Space Restructuring is a mandatory 10-year statutory plan that cities and counties in rural areas are required to establish under the Rural Space Restructuring Act, in order to systematically organize rural spaces as places to live, work, and rest. Based on this basic plan, local governments can formulate five-year implementation plans and participate in projects linked to various rural space policies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Hoengseong County proactively reflected the policy direction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs' rural space planning system by commissioning a service to establish the basic plan in July last year. The plan was further refined through expert consulting from the ministry and advice from the provincial rural space policy support agency until October this year. After completing consultations with the ministry in November, the revised and supplemented plan was finally approved by the Gangwon Regional Rural Space Policy Deliberation Committee.

The approved basic plan for Hoengseong County divides the county into two regeneration activation zones-eastern and western-and, under the vision of 'Remarkable Progress for Hoengseong,' sets out four strategic directions and 12 key initiatives. Over the next 10 years, a total of 574.1 billion KRW will be invested to systematically design the future of Hoengseong's rural spaces.

Through this plan, Hoengseong County has secured approximately 30 billion KRW in national funding for this year's rural agreement project and 5 billion KRW for the pilot project of specialized zones, which is a core task of rural space restructuring. In total, about 35 billion KRW in national funding has been secured for the next five years, and provincial officials regard this as a leading example of rural space restructuring.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is recommending that all cities and counties establish a basic plan for rural spaces by 2026 to enhance the effectiveness of the rural space planning system. From 2027, all financial support related to rural spaces will be provided only to those local governments that have established a basic plan. Accordingly, active participation from cities and counties is required.

Currently, including Hoengseong County, 11 cities and counties in the province are in the process of formulating their own basic plans for rural spaces. Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province plans to support smooth plan establishment by minimizing trial and error and enhancing plan quality through focused consulting by experts from the Gangwon Regional Rural Space Policy Support Agency.

In addition, Hoengseong County, which is taking a leading role in implementing the rural space restructuring system, has already begun formulating its implementation plan to ensure the continuity and sustainability of rural development policies. The county aims to complete this process by 2026 through further expert consulting.

Seok Seonggyun, Director of Agricultural Policy at Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, "With Hoengseong County becoming the first in the province to receive approval for its basic plan for rural space restructuring, we expect other cities and counties to accelerate their own planning processes. We hope that rural spaces will regain vitality as places to live, work, and rest through plans tailored to the lives of local residents."