Vice Chairman Kim Jino Meets with Incheon Mayor Park Chandae... Proposes 'Resident Population Registration System' for Ganghwa and Ongjin

Fourth Field Visit with Metropolitan and Provincial Governors
Accelerating Local Cooperation as the Basic Population Strategy Act Takes Effect on September 10

Amid the deepening crisis of low birth rates and population aging, the central government and local governments are accelerating the formation of a policy alliance front to seek regionally tailored solutions.

Kim Jino, Vice Chairman of the Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society (left), and Park Chandae, Mayor of Incheon, are shaking hands. Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society.

On September 7, Kim Jino, Vice Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Low Fertility and Aging Society, visited Incheon Metropolitan City Hall to meet with Park Chandae, Mayor of Incheon. They discussed concrete implementation measures for addressing demographic issues between the central and local governments. This visit is part of an ongoing series of roundtable meetings with governors from 16 cities and provinces nationwide, ahead of the official launch of the Population Strategy Committee on September 10. It marks the fourth field visit, following previous meetings in Gyeongbuk, Seoul, and Jeonnam·Gwangju.

Vice Chairman Kim announced his vision to develop Incheon’s housing and care support policies as a national standard model. He stated, “I hope Incheon’s systematic support ecosystem—ranging from the Thousand-Won Housing initiative and support for postpartum care expenses to the creation of mom-friendly playgrounds, covering the entire journey from marriage to childbirth and childrearing—will spread nationwide.” Additionally, he proposed addressing population decline and growing existential risk in areas such as Ganghwa-gun and Ongjin-gun within Incheon by introducing a resident population registration system and transforming unused facilities into complex family cafes for children and seniors, thereby tackling both care gaps and social isolation.

Mayor Park responded by pledging, “Incheon will actively cooperate so that the city’s efforts to strengthen the childbirth and care system, as well as its age-friendly policies, are organically linked with the national population strategy,” signaling a commitment to align local policies with central government strategies. After the meeting, Vice Chairman Kim visited the Namdong-gu Family Center to inspect support systems for dual-income families and multicultural family counseling services, listening to the challenges faced by field workers.

Meanwhile, once the Basic Population Strategy Act officially takes effect on September 10, the institutionalization of governor ex officio participation in the Population Strategy Committee, the establishment of city and provincial Population Strategy Committees, and the designation of population policy officers at each level will become mandatory.

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