Sangju City Wins Prime Minister's Award for Resident-Led Population Policy

Awarded at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Competition for Two Consecutive Years
Emerging as a Model Case for Addressing Local Extinction

Sangju City has received the highest level of government recognition for its resident-led policies addressing population decline. The city announced on December 18 that it was awarded the Prime Minister's Award at the 2025 Population Decline Response Best Practice Competition, hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Sangju City Wins Prime Minister's Award at the 2025 Population Decline Response Best Practice Competition

This competition was organized to identify and promote outstanding policies from local governments that have effectively responded to the crises of local extinction and population decline. Following last year's Minister of the Interior and Safety Award at the same event, Sangju City has now achieved consecutive wins for two years, earning recognition for both the sustainability and effectiveness of its population policies.

The case presented by Sangju City was the "Resident-Led Village Living Lab" project, which focuses on strengthening residents' capabilities.

Targeting small villages experiencing severe population decline, the project empowers residents to identify problems themselves and design and implement solutions, thereby revitalizing the community and laying the foundation for improved living conditions and population inflow. This approach received high praise.

The project was selected for the Gyeongsangbuk-do Population Vitality Project, securing a budget of 1.014 billion won, and was also chosen as an outstanding case at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's "2025 Local Era Expo," demonstrating tangible results.

An official from Sangju City stated, "The process in which residents take the lead in transforming their villages is the key to sustainability," adding, "We will proactively respond to the crisis of rural extinction by spreading the village model that leads to an increase in both the daytime and resident populations."

Sangju City's population policy, which has proven successful through resident participation rather than short-term administrative measures, is now being recognized as a new standard for addressing local extinction.