- MoU signed on October 16th offers support for multi-ministry projects, including the Local Extinction Response Fund - 

 

 

 □ The Korean government ministries are signing the Agreement on the Creation of Regional Vitality Towns and gathering momentum to overcome the near-extinction crisis of regional towns.

 

 

 ㅇ The Presidential Committee for Decentralized and Balanced Development (Chairman U Tong-gi) announced that eight ministries, consisting of the Ministry of Education (Vice Prime Minister Lee Ju-Ho), Ministry of the Interior and Safety (Minister Lee Sang-Min), Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Yu In-Chon), Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Minister Chung Hwang-Keun), Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Cho Kyoo Hong), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Minister Won Hee-Ryong), Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (Minister Cho Seung Hwan), and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Lee Young), signed an MoU on October 16th.

 

 

 ㅇ The agreement signing event was organized by the Presidential Committee for Decentralized and Balanced Development, which supports the national goal of promoting ‘an era of localities that are good for living anywhere within Korea.’

 

 

 □ The Regional Vitality Town Project supports the creation of residential complexes that combine housing, culture, and welfare through the efforts of non-central local governments, which aims to encourage the settlement of retirees and younger population within the regions.

 

 

 ㅇ The pilot project, which started in 2023, includes seven local governments that were selected in June 2022 among 21 applicants, is to continue expanding.

 

 

 □ With the signing of this year’s MoU, eight ministries will segregate their roles according to their respective characteristics to roll out the 2024 Regional Vitality Town project, considering the addition of Ministry of Education, which was intended to expand inter-ministerial support. The MoU will also increase support for government-subsidized projects.

 

 

 ㅇ Nearly 10 winners will be selected as new 2024 project sites within the first half of next year via a nationwide integrated city-county-province recruitment initiative starting in January 2024.

 

 

 ㅇ The selection will follow the process of recruitment launch (Jan 2024) → submissions and evaluations (Mar – Apr 2024) → and selection (May 2024). Once selected, the winners will be able to efficiently run their projects thanks to the consolidated roll out of the multi-ministerial customized support programs.