Fifteen local governments identified as vulnerable due to a lack of emergency medical services, registered lawyers, and declining populations have been excluded from the highest tier of government support. These areas face a "triple burden" of service shortages, safety issues, and demographic challenges, yet the government's evaluation does not adequately reflect residents' living conditions.
The government introduced a "regional support index" to differentiate national assistance based on geographic criteria, primarily using the distance from Seoul City Hall to local government offices as a key metric. However, this distance does not accurately represent the time it takes residents to access hospitals or police stations, as the actual accessibility involves more than just road distance.
Population Decline Areas Increased from 89 to 92
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on October 7 that the number of designated population decline areas has increased from 89 to 92, marking the first re-designation since the initial classification in 2021. Newly included areas are Busan's Geumjeong District, Dongducheon City in Gyeonggi Province, and Tongyeong City in South Gyeongsang Province.
In conjunction with this, the government has implemented the regional support index to further refine the levels of assistance. A related amendment to the enforcement decree was approved by the Cabinet on October 20, and detailed operational guidelines were announced on October 21.
The regional support index classifies 229 areas nationwide into four tiers, determining the level of government support. A higher tier number indicates greater assistance. Tier 1 includes 58 areas, while Tiers 2 and 3 each encompass 55 areas, and Tier 4, the highest support level, includes 61 areas.
Starting in 2027, the government plans to utilize the regional support index for 23 initiatives, including local love gift certificates and youth job creation incentives. The national funding rate for local love gift certificates is 8% for Tier 3 and 9% for Tier 4. The maximum support amount for youth job creation incentives also varies, with Tier 3 receiving up to 8.1 million won and Tier 4 up to 9 million won.
Proximity to Seoul Excludes Areas from Top Support
An investigative team from Ajou Economic analyzed the 98 areas designated as vulnerable by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the 52 areas without registered lawyers. Among these, 48 areas met both criteria, with 46 classified as population decline areas. These areas, referred to as "service shortage, lawyer absence, and population decline regions," were compared against the government's regional support index.
Of the 46 areas, only 31 (67.4%) were included in the highest support tier (Tier 4), while the remaining 15 (32.6%) fell into Tier 3. These include Incheon’s Ganghwa and Ongjin counties, Gyeonggi’s Yeoncheon County, and several counties in Gangwon and Chungbuk provinces. Their proximity to Seoul likely contributed to their lower scores.
Distance Weighting Favors Proximity Over Socioeconomic Indicators
President Lee Jae-myung stated in August that the government would continue to identify support systems favoring areas farther from Seoul. Consequently, the regional support index was calculated based on the distance from Seoul City Hall to local government offices, alongside 44 balanced development indicators evaluated by the Local Era Committee. The weighting for distance and socioeconomic indicators is set at 1 and 0.5, respectively. The government explained that this approach reflects the concentration of population, jobs, and infrastructure in the metropolitan area.
However, this numerical distance fails to capture the real challenges residents face in accessing government services. For instance, Ongjin County, which consists of islands near North Korea, has its government office located on the mainland, complicating access for residents who must travel across water.
Residents of Ongjin must cross the sea to reach a general hospital, coordinating their travel with ferry schedules. Adverse weather can disrupt ferry services, making it difficult to leave the islands. In emergencies, specialized transport like helicopters may be required, risking the loss of critical time.
Emergency Response Times and Legal Service Gaps Not Included in Evaluation
In areas where residents are dispersed over large regions, the layout of roads and the placement of police stations significantly affect access to public services. One indicator of this is the area each police officer is responsible for.
The average area per police officer in the 15 Tier 3 regions is 5.47 square kilometers, which is larger than the 4.87 square kilometers average in Tier 4 regions. In Pyeongchang County, the area per officer is 10.93 square kilometers, approximately 377 times larger than the average of 0.029 square kilometers for police stations in Seoul. Additionally, the average response time for emergency 112 calls in Pyeongchang from January to August this year was 10 minutes and 58 seconds, while in Hwacheon County, it was 11 minutes and 46 seconds.
In contrast, Taebaek City in Tier 4 had an area of only 2.08 square kilometers per officer and a response time of just 2 minutes and 35 seconds. This indicates that some Tier 3 regions are less equipped than Tier 4 regions when considering actual distances to government services.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 44 balanced development indicators include road distances to police and fire stations, as well as the population ratio within emergency medical service areas. However, experts argue that these indicators do not accurately reflect the challenges residents face in emergencies. They call for more specific metrics, such as response times for emergency calls, to be included. The absence of registered lawyers in these areas also creates a gap in legal services.
Youth Outmigration and Aging Population in Excluded Areas
Additionally, regions experiencing youth outmigration and aging populations have been excluded from the highest support tier. An analysis of youth migration rates (ages 19-39) by the National Data Agency revealed that 14 of the 15 Tier 3 regions experienced net outmigration of youth in 2024, with 11 areas continuing this trend in 2025. Notably, Pyeongchang County's youth migration rate worsened from -3.1% in 2024 to -6.4% in 2025, while Hwaseong County recorded -5.6%, and Danyang and Buyeo counties reported -5.2% each.
Aging is also a significant issue. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's August 2026 population statistics, the average proportion of residents aged 65 and older in these 15 areas is 38.8%, significantly higher than the national average of 22.1%. In eight of these areas, more than 40% of the population is elderly. The combination of two consecutive years of youth outmigration has resulted in six areas having over 40% of their populations aged 65 and older. While the regional support index includes aging indices and youth migration rates, it falls short of capturing the complex vulnerabilities of these demographic shifts.
Regions that received special support this year were also excluded from the top tier. An analysis of 40 areas designated for special support due to high fuel costs in 2026 revealed that seven areas, including Yanggu and Hwacheon in Gangwon Province and Goesan, Danyang, and Buyeo in Chungbuk and Chungnam provinces, were classified as Tier 3. All seven areas are also categorized as service shortage, lawyer absence, and population decline regions.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.