The warmth in the depopulated area...Performance in Response to Local Extinction

[Anchor]
The local extinction response fund project, which the government started in 2022, is paying off.

As the government supports regional-led population measures reflecting the characteristics of each region, the number of people living in population-extinct areas is increasing and the local economy is becoming a new vitality.

Reporter Kim Hyun-ah reports.

[Reporter]
People are coming back to Yeongdo, Busan, the 'forgotten island'.

Although it is an island without a famous beach, it creates a wide walking path along the coast to enjoy the superb view,
With the development of unique villages and cafe industries along the
road, 1.6 million people visit Yeongdo every month, and the living population has exceeded four times the resident population.

[Jeong Eun-kyung / Barista Instructor: I'm not actually from this part of the country. But now that I'm in Busan, there's no city where coffee is sincere, but I think it's also Yeongdo-gu that supports me so hard and allows me to share this effort with the residents.]

Yeongdo has been going downhill ever since giving up the initiative in the ship repair industry in the late '90s.

However, in 2021, local governments, local companies, and young people began to create local attractions, and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security successfully reversed the situation by supporting the "Local Extinction Response Fund" worth nearly 10 billion won.

[Lee Byung-soo / Deputy Mayor of Yeongdo-gu, Busan: After the local extinction response fund was invested, the industry has now developed for the overall coffee industry due to the distribution and processing of coffee. There are about 300 cafes in Yeongdo-gu right now, and we plan to expand and reorganize them into a new industry in Yeongdo.]

The Ministry of Public Administration and Security's Local Extinction Response Fund is worth 1 trillion won, and from next year, the basic distribution will be increased, and excellent regions will double the amount of support.

Regional revitalization investment funds are also expected to be raised by an additional 300 billion won next year, enabling large-scale investments.

There are also results in reviving the region.

In June, both the living and staying population in population-reduced areas increased, and the card usage of the resident population accounted for 43.2% of the region's total use, contributing to the local economy.

[Lee Sang-min / Minister of Public Administration and Security: In the future, we plan to focus on revitalizing the local economy by linking projects related to the local era, including the four special zones for opportunity development and the special zones for education, with the fund to respond to local extinction.]

In addition, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security plans to double the budget for the vacant house project, which was launched for the first time this year, next year to speed up the improvement of the local residential environment.

I'm Kim Hyunah of YTN.

Video editing;Lee Young-hoon
design;Bin