"The Last Line Against Regional Extinction"... Jeonnam Provincial Council Urges Enactment of 'Youth Special Zone Act'

Hyunchang Lee Leads Proposal, Mobilizes Full Effort for 'Youth Settlement'

Limitations of Competitive 'Youth-Friendly City' Model... "National-Level Support Essential"

The Jeonnam Provincial Council is zeroing in on the critical issue of youth outmigration, which could become the biggest turning point for regional extinction, up until the last day of its term. The council has called for the enactment of a special law to designate 'Youth Special Zones' at the national level.

Hyunchang Lee, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Gurye), sponsored the 'Proposal to Urge the Enactment of a Special Act on the Creation and Support of Youth Special Zones' during the 399th extraordinary session's third plenary meeting held on the 19th.

Hyunchang Lee, Jeonnam Provincial Council Member.

This proposal focuses on urging the establishment of a legal basis at the national level to comprehensively support youth settlement. It aims to address the crisis of regional extinction, which is becoming more severe due to youth outmigration and population decline, and to ensure that young people can receive education, work, and settle in their local communities.

Notably, this day marked the closing session of the 12th Jeonnam Provincial Council’s final term, adding significance as the council addressed youth issues—central to the region's future generations—and regional sustainability as its core agenda until the very last moment of its term.

Councilor Lee emphasized, "Young people are the key drivers of the region's future and the foundation for the sustainable development of Korea. However, local youth are moving to the Seoul metropolitan area due to complex challenges such as job scarcity, housing instability, and disparities in education, culture, and welfare."

He continued, "Jeonnam is one of the metropolitan governments facing a severe crisis of population decline and regional extinction, with both youth outmigration and aging occurring simultaneously in many of its cities and counties. Considering administrative changes such as the potential transition to an integrated city-county government model in the future, it is imperative to proactively respond so that the policy gap for youth between urban and rural areas does not widen."

Currently, the government is expanding youth support policies in areas such as employment, education and vocational training, housing, and welfare based on the 'Framework Act on Youth' and the Second Basic Plan for Youth Policy. As a regional supplement, the 'Youth-Friendly City' initiative is also in operation.

In Jeonnam, Suncheon City was designated as a Youth-Friendly City in the second round last December, demonstrating the potential for youth policies based on youth participation.

However, it has been pointed out that the Youth-Friendly City initiative is a competitive program in which only up to three basic local governments nationwide are selected each year. This favors regions that already have a certain level of policy infrastructure and participation systems in place for youth policies.

In response, Councilor Lee noted, "In fact, it is most difficult for areas with declining populations, where youth policies are most urgently needed, to build a participation base because the youth population itself is small. Even after being selected, it is structurally challenging to sustainably pursue projects due to the financial burden on local governments."

He added, "Jeonnam has taken proactive steps by enacting the nation's first 'Ordinance on the Creation and Support of Youth-Specialized Zones in Jeonnam Province' to create a policy foundation for youth settlement and to address outmigration. However, efforts at the local government level alone are limited by financial and administrative constraints, so it is essential for the state to designate Youth Special Zones and provide stable support through a special law."

He strongly urged, "The Youth Special Zone must not be limited to simple youth participation or job creation programs. It should evolve into a national balanced development policy that supports youth inflow and settlement in connection with local stakeholders such as universities, businesses, and public institutions, and improves overall regional conditions from the perspective of young people."

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