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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] A recent survey shows that around 8 out of 10 non-metropolitan cities and counties in South Korea perceive population decline and regional extinction as a serious threat, with more than half expecting the situation to worsen in the coming years. The lack of jobs was identified as the main reason why residents leave their regions.
The Korea Economic Association (KEA) conducted the survey targeting non-metropolitan local governments (excluding Seoul, the greater metropolitan area, Sejong, and Jeju). Of the 100 local governments that responded, 77.0% rated the risk of population decline and regional extinction as high, 17.0% rated it as moderate, and only 6.0% rated it low. By region, the Gangwon area reported the highest concern (85.7%), followed by Gyeongsang (85.3%), Jeolla (78.6%), and Chungcheong (58.3%).
Among the municipalities that recognize the threat, the most cited reason for population decline was lack of industry and jobs (44.2%), followed by housing and living environment (21.4%), medical, health, and care services (17.5%), and education/universities (9.1%). In regional infrastructure assessments, industry and employment scored lowest, averaging 2.1 out of 5.
Almost all non-metropolitan local governments (97.0%) are implementing policies to respond to population decline. However, only 38.1% rated these policies as effective, with 54.6% saying the effect is moderate. Furthermore, 64.0% of respondents worry that population decline and regional extinction risks will increase over the next five years.
When asked about priority policy measures, local governments cited attracting businesses (37.5%) as most urgent, followed by housing supply and improving living conditions (19.5%), stimulating local population inflow (12.5%), and strengthening medical services (7.5%). KEA noted that both the causes and solutions for population decline point clearly to industry and employment.
The survey also gauged expectations for KEA’s proposed “tripartite alliance model”, designed to encourage retiring baby boomers from metropolitan areas to relocate to non-metropolitan regions and rejoin local SMEs. 55.0% of local governments expected it would provide tangible benefits. To make the model successful, municipalities emphasized the need for policies such as a job-matching platform linked to rural relocation (25.0%) and stable housing provision (20.5%).
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
