The population of Seo-gu in Daegu fell to about 159,000 in 2022. It then turned around, reaching 163,956 last year. This recovery is the basis for the district's removal from the list of population decline areas after five years. After the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's redesignation results reached each region, places like Seo-gu that were judged to have "improved" reacted with concern rather than cheers.
Dong-gu, Jung-gu and Daedeok-gu in Daejeon are in the same position. The three autonomous districts were removed from the population decline areas on the grounds that their population conditions had improved, and were classified as newly created "population vitality areas." Existing government support, including the Local Extinction Response Fund, will be maintained until 2031. For Seo-gu in Daegu, the explanation given was that the fund and central ministry support projects would be kept in place for the next five years.
What local governments are worried about is the fund cap that will apply after the grace period ends.
Under the Local Extinction Response Fund, population decline areas receive up to 12 billion won and areas of concern up to 3 billion won. That is a fourfold difference. The total size of the fund is 1 trillion won a year.
The system was designed to provide support by bundling administrative and fiscal special provisions and central ministry support projects together with the fund. If a region's grade changes by one step, its entire project plan has to be rewritten.
Which of these tiers the "population vitality area" falls into was not made clear in the redesignation announcement. Regions also interpret differently whether it is a new name for the existing "area of concern" or a separately created category. The fund cap that will apply when the grace period ends depends on this distinction.
Some regions were newly added to the list. Tongyeong was designated a population decline area this time. This follows a drop in its population from the 140,000 range to the 110,000 range.
Geumjeong-gu in Busan was also newly designated, and on October 8 it announced that it would draw up a fund investment plan centered on young people and Geumjeongsan National Park. In North Gyeongsang Province, Yecheon County and Chilgok County were newly included as fund recipients, and the number of population decline areas remained at 15.
In Gangwon State, 16 of its 18 cities and counties, all except Chuncheon and Wonju, were classified as population decline areas or areas of concern. The province as a whole is effectively eligible for support, but lines are still drawn within it. Inje County took issue with this line. It pointed out that although it is a border area just like neighboring Hwacheon County and there is little difference in the conditions in which people live, there is a gap in fiscal support.
There were previously 89 population decline areas. Being removed from that list is also an assessment that population indicators have improved. The population Seo-gu in Daegu regained over three years is just over 4,000.
A rebound in one indicator does not mean that care workers, empty houses or departed commercial districts recover along with it. Local governments are asking whether funding will remain to continue their projects after they leave the list.
Different expressions, "until 2031" and "for the next five years," are being used in different regions to describe the support period. Whether the two expressions point to the same end date remains a matter for each local government to confirm with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Which cap will apply in the year the transition period ends has become more important than drawing up immediate investment plans.
In the meantime, each region is writing its own plan. Geumjeong-gu in Busan has chosen projects centered on Geumjeongsan National Park and young people, while Yecheon and Chilgok are deciding where to spend the fund they are receiving for the first time. What Dong-gu, Jung-gu and Daedeok-gu in Daejeon and Seo-gu in Daegu leave behind within the grace period will become clear through spending over the next five years.
