Yeosu Launches All-Out Response to Crisis as Population Nears 260,000 Threshold

[Financial News, Yeosu = Reporter Hwang Tae-jong] Yeosu City is mounting a full-scale response to the crisis of its population falling below 260,000.
According to Yeosu on the 26th, the city’s registered population stood at 260,190 at the end of July, as tallied by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS). That was down 4,911 from 265,101 in the same period last year.
Yeosu’s own count showed that as of Aug. 20, the registered population had fallen to 260,022, a drop of 168 in less than a month. If the decline continues, the city expects the 260,000 mark to be broken by the end of August.
In response, Yeosu has decided to take an all-out approach to the crisis of its population falling below 260,000.
The city said it has concluded that support programs and incentives for new residents alone have limits in slowing the decline. It will shift its population policy toward a comprehensive urban strategy that improves living conditions tied directly to residents’ quality of life, including jobs, housing, education, healthcare and the local environment. It will also conduct an urgent midterm review of the performance and achievement rates of population policy projects under the 2026 Population Policy Implementation Plan.
Through this review, Yeosu plans to look beyond project results and budget execution. It will focus on whether the programs are actually helping young people stay in the region and families settle there.
In particular, the city plans to expand population impact assessments for major policies and projects before and after implementation. It will closely examine the effects on population from the planning stage, then analyze the actual results after execution and reflect them in policy improvements to enhance effectiveness.
Yeosu also plans to strengthen collaboration across all departments by reinforcing the Population Decline Response TF, led by the vice mayor, so that each department can reexamine its projects from a population perspective and respond with full force.
Yeosu Mayor Seo Young-hak said, "The population issue is not a task for a specific department alone. It is a core issue for our city and the reason for its existence." He added, "We will thoroughly review measures to revitalize the resident population, including improving jobs, housing, education and healthcare conditions, and do everything we can to create changes that citizens can actually feel."

[email protected] Hwang Tae-jong Reporter