Uiseong County Looks to Correctional Facility to Reverse Depopulation

Ministry of Justice to build facilities in four regions nationwide

Expected to attract residents and create jobs

Ahead of candidate site selection in December,

efforts to engage residents and build consensus ramp up

Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, has begun actively gathering community feedback as it pursues the attraction of a correctional facility as a new growth engine to address population decline and a sluggish local economy.

Uiseong County, headed by Governor Choi Yucheol, said on October 15 that it is holding a series of public information sessions in line with the Ministry of Justice's plan to build new correctional facilities nationwide and reviewing the economic benefits and potential for regional development associated with attracting a facility.

On October 8, the county held an information session on its plan to attract a correctional facility at the Uiseong County Youth Culture Center, attended by about 80 people, including provincial and county council members and heads of civic organizations.

It then held a session at the Geumseong-myeon office on October 13 and plans to hold an additional session at the Uiseong-eup office on October 16.

The sessions covered the scale of the proposed facility, the process for moving the project forward, and plans to support the host area. They also outlined ways the facility could attract new residents, create jobs, and boost the local economy.

Under the Ministry of Justice's plan to build new correctional facilities, facilities will be built in four regions nationwide. Each facility is expected to accommodate about 1,000 inmates and have at least 250 resident staff members.

Each facility will require about 192,000 square meters of land. The government plans to select candidate sites in December this year and proceed with the project with completion targeted for 2034.

Uiseong County estimates that attracting a correctional facility could generate an economic impact of about 800 billion won.

During construction, local contractors are expected to participate in the project, while demand for related industries is also expected to rise. Once the facility begins operating, the relocation of correctional officers and their families could increase the resident population, expand local employment, and boost spending at local businesses, including lodging and restaurants, through visits from people meeting inmates.

However, the estimated economic impact is only a projection. The actual effects may vary depending on the facility's location, the participation rate of local businesses, and whether resident staff members live in the area.

Uiseong County plans to comprehensively assess not only the anticipated benefits of attracting the facility but also the suitability of its location, the availability of infrastructure, and its impact on surrounding areas.

In particular, the county intends to gather residents' views fully and build community consensus, while developing specific plans to ensure that attracting the facility leads to genuine population growth and a stronger local economy.

“To overcome the crisis of local communities disappearing, we need to identify new growth engines and turn them into population inflows and job creation,” said Uiseong County Governor Choi Yucheol. “We will communicate fully with county residents and move forward in a way that ensures attracting a correctional facility can provide tangible benefits for Uiseong's future and local economy.”

The key to the future of the correctional facility proposal will be translating its anticipated economic benefits into concrete regional development plans while securing residents' support.

Before candidate sites are selected, it will be important to objectively explain the need for the facility and its potential impact on the area, and to incorporate residents' views into the actual plans for attracting it.

Attracting a correctional facility is more than a matter of securing a public facility; it could affect the residential foundations and economic structure of an area experiencing population decline. However, attracting a facility alone does not guarantee regional development.

Concrete implementation plans must support the realization of the anticipated benefits, including the settlement of resident staff in the area, participation by local businesses, and local hiring.

Above all, the process of verifying the project's merits on the basis of residents' understanding and consent is expected to be the key challenge determining the success or failure of Uiseong County's efforts to attract a correctional facility.

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