Gapyeong County Achieves Milestone by Winning Minister's Award for Population Decline Response

"Cheongjeong Gapyeong Project" Draws Attention
at Competition Among 122 Local Governments

Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province was recognized as an excellent local government in responding to population decline at the "2025 Population Decline Response Best Practice Competition" hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and received the Minister's Award.

Seo Taewon, the governor of Gapyeong County, is receiving the Minister's Award for being recognized as an excellent local government in responding to population decline at the "2025 Population Decline Response Best Practice Competition" hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Provided by Gapyeong County

According to Gapyeong County on December 19, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held the competition at the Government Complex Sejong on December 18, targeting 122 local governments nationwide, including all cities and provinces as well as areas of concern for population decline and local extinction. The event aimed to identify outstanding cases in responding to local extinction and population decline. At this competition, Gapyeong County was selected as an outstanding local government in the field of population decline response and received the Minister's Award from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Gapyeong County received high marks for its "Cheongjeong (Youth Settlement) Gapyeong Project," which has been implemented to overcome the structural challenges of youth outflow and lack of industrial infrastructure. This project is characterized by establishing a three-stage youth settlement roadmap-"independence, growth, and settlement"-with the goal of encouraging young people to settle in the region, and by organically linking policies related to jobs, housing, and daily life.

Through the implementation of such policies, the county has strengthened the foundation for young people to settle in the region and has worked to improve the population structure over the medium to long term. Going forward, Gapyeong County plans to continue its population decline response strategy by promoting population policies tailored to local characteristics, centered on the "Cheongjeong Gapyeong" model, where young people's work, life, and dreams can thrive.

A Gapyeong County official stated, "Our consistent efforts to promote population policies centered on youth settlement received positive feedback in this evaluation," adding, "We will continue to deliver tangible results in responding to population decline through policies suited to the local situation."