Inje County’s push over its Zone 2 classification under the Local Preferential Index yields first result: New additional-support clause added

【Financial News | Inje = Kim Gi-seop】After two weeks of all-out efforts, Inje County, which had feared that its Zone 2 classification under the Local Preferential Index would disadvantage it in government support, secured a basis for additional support in a government notice.
According to Inje County on the 5th, a clause providing additional support to areas of concern for population decline was added to the Regulations on the Operation and Management of the Local Preferential Index (Ministry of the Interior and Safety Notice No. 2026-66), which took effect on the 3rd. The newly added Article 4, Paragraph 3 allows the head of a central administrative agency to provide additional support to such areas when necessary, in light of the characteristics of the policies and projects under the agency’s purview. This provision was absent from the draft announced for administrative notice on October 21; the final notice reflected the county’s long-standing call to address disparities in support.
Inje County’s Zone 2 classification itself has not changed. However, it is significant that a mechanism has been put in place to bridge potential support gaps before the Local Preferential Index is recalculated next March. With zone adjustments taking time, an institutional channel has opened for the county to receive additional support tailored to the characteristics of each ministry’s projects.
The result came after the county, its council, civic groups and residents spoke with one voice. On October 20, the county submitted an official opinion calling for improvements to the assessment criteria and an adjustment to Zone 4. On the 22nd, it held a press conference at the Gangwon State Government office, urging a fair assessment that takes into account population decline and the particular circumstances of border areas. On the 27th and 28th, it held countywide rallies in Inje and outside the National Assembly to protest the classification, delivered petitions to the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee and Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, and submitted to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety a petition signed by 8,794 county residents.
On October 30, Inje County Governor Choi Sang-gi met Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung at the Government Complex Sejong and called for an adjustment to Zone 4, the additional designation of Depopulation Regions, and measures to prevent county residents from being disadvantaged. Minister Yun said at the time that the government was actively considering redrawing the zones, and stated that it would pursue concrete measures, including consultations with relevant ministries and budget allocations, to ensure there would be no disadvantage in government support or benefits for residents.
The county does not view this clause as a fundamental solution that can replace a zone adjustment, and plans to focus its administrative efforts on securing an adjustment to Zone 4 in next March’s recalculation. Until then, it will continue consulting with relevant ministries to ensure the basis for additional support is reflected in actual government projects and budgets. It will also continue to call for improvements to the assessment criteria to reflect the particular circumstances of border areas and the region’s relative underdevelopment, as well as the additional designation of Depopulation Regions. The emergency committee formed to protest the Zone 2 designation under the Local Preferential Index will remain active until the recalculation is complete, monitoring the government’s institutional reforms and reconsideration of the zone classifications.
“The 8,794 signatures from county residents and the countywide rallies, among other efforts, showed the community speaking with one voice, and as a result, a basis for additional support was included in the government notice,” Inje County Governor Choi Sang-gi said. “We will continue talks with the government so that the new clause does not remain on paper but leads to ministry projects and budgets, allowing residents to feel the benefits, and we will devote our efforts to securing an adjustment to Zone 4 in next March’s recalculation.”

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