Korea is facing a crisis of local extinction due to low birth rates and concenration in the metropolitan area. Based on 228 cities and counties nationwide, the number of areas at risk of disappearance was 33 in 2005, but increased to 106 in 2021. During the period from 1975 to 2015, the proportion of the population of counties in the country decreased sharply from 25.1% to 8.3%, and most counties have already entered the extinction risk stage. In the last three years, 25 high-risk districts increased.
Accordingly, in November 2021, the government jointly announced the "Preemptive Response Plan for Local Disappearance", and as detailed plans, establishment of a basis for promotion of trans-regional cooperation, fostering of growth bases for the influx of human resources and jobs, and creation of living bases to improve the quality of life , establishment of a regionally led/centralized support promotion system, and support for strengthening regional policy execution capabilities were suggested. However, for over a year, no significant results have been achieved. In this article, the constitution and legal regulations for coping with local extinction and balanced national development, followed by policies and overseas cases were reviewed, and then the direction of supplementary policies was suggested.
Local extinction is not a local problem, but a national problem. Furthermore, it is the value that the Constitution aims to promote equal opportunities for development among regions and to promote the self-reliant development capacity of regions to improve the quality of life and promote sustainable development to realize a society where all people live well with their own individuality.
Young people who have not been able to find quality jobs and opportunities in the provinces are flocking to the metropolitan area in search of opportunities, but the reality is that they cannot afford marriage or childbirth because they cannot afford expensive housing. Seoul"s total fertility rate, which stood at 0.59 last year, represents this. Conversely, if there are jobs and opportunities comparable to those in the metropolitan area in a community with low housing costs, and if the quality of life of local residents improves through balanced regional development, the problem of local extinction can be solved to some extent. As long as the opportunity imbalance between the metropolitan area and the provinces is maintained, population decline in the provinces cannot be prevented, so resolving the population concentration in the metropolitan area should be a priority for population measures.
Now, it is necessary to change the perception from how to increase the population to how to improve the quality of life of the residents. It is necessary to ensure a sufficient quality of life no matter where you live in the country by narrowing the regional gap in living infrastructure such as jobs, housing, education, childcare, medical care, and culture. Since the biggest cause of local extinction is the outflow of young people, support for young people and low birth rates is important to prevent local extinction, but it is necessary to approach welfare issues in the life cycle leading to local children, young people, middle-aged and elderly people.