Responding to Local Extinction with Specialized Regional Industries... Collaboration Projects for City/County/District-Based Industry Development Selected

Cross-Ministerial Collaboration Links Policy Tools
17 Preliminary Projects Selected for City, County, and District-Level Initiatives

In order to expand regional employment opportunities, particularly in areas with declining populations and rural or fishing village-based industries, the government is promoting collaborative projects centered on regionally specialized industries.

On May 27, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it had selected 17 projects for the “2027 City/County/District-Based Industry Development Collaboration Project” to address local extinction and revitalize regional economies.

This initiative is a cross-ministerial collaborative project aimed at increasing jobs and the resident population in regions with declining populations and in rural or fishing communities. Local governments plan regional industrial development strategies, which are then linked to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ business support programs as well as the policy tools of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide support such as technology assistance and commercialization, while related ministries will jointly implement policies for local settlement and improvement of living environments, including foreign workforce supply, local extinction response funds, tourism revitalization, rural agreements, and the fishing village new deal.

This year, additional support measures include the regionally specialized skilled workforce visa (E-7-4R) and the regional vacation support program. These improvements allow for the simultaneous design of industrial development and settlement or tourism policies. The evaluation focused on policy linkage feasibility and project effectiveness, with evaluation committee members from each ministry participating jointly.

Status of Preliminary Selected Projects for 2027. Ministry of SMEs and Startups

Among the 17 selected projects, many aim to advance local unique resources into the food, bio, and tourism industries, or to strengthen the competitiveness of regional manufacturing through digital transformation and process improvement.

For example, Dong-gu and Geumjeong-gu in Busan were selected for projects that combine the apparel manufacturing industry with advanced technology to revitalize the region, while Naju-si in South Jeolla Province was chosen for a food upcycling ecosystem that reprocesses agricultural by-products into new foods and materials.

The selected projects go beyond simple business support, integrating design and branding, experiential tourism, digital transformation, and workforce training. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to finalize the list of eligible local governments for support in December, following consulting for project advancement and a joint final evaluation with related ministries.

The government stated, “Through this project, we expect comprehensive effects that can be felt in the field, including not only the growth of local enterprises, but also improved settlement conditions in areas facing population extinction, expansion of the resident population, and revitalization of tourism.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.