As Korea faces an era of population decline, it is necessary to change its existing regional development strategy based on the quantitative growth of the population.
Regional development policies should be established in a way that responds to macroscopic future environmental changes; thus, it is necessary to seek future-oriented development plans from an integrated perspective with a dynamic approach that considers both such environmental changes as well as future demographic changes.
First, since current trends such as the continuing low birth rate and the decrease in marriage rate inevitably accompany a decrease in population, it is necessary to establish a future strategy by viewing the current trend of population decline as a constant. However, it is also necessary to make parallel efforts to slow the pace of change so that the social system can respond. While regional development strategies so far have focused on maintaining the local population size and promoting a population influx to maintain the existing socio-economic system, measures to change the existing system in line with changes in the demographic structure must also be prepared.
Second, an efficient spatial strategy to respond to population decline is compact network development. In particular, in rural areas where the population is declining, it is necessary to make the utmost effort not to decrease the quality of public services used by residents in the region, and it is desirable to create hubs focused on living infrastructure.
Third, regional development should be led by the local government and supported by the central government. Under the centralized system of the past, the logic of the Seoul metropolitan area and the national government were first applied to regional development strategies, but this is now shifting to decentralization, civic engagement, and diversification, requiring a customized regional development strategy.
Finally, strategies are needed to improve residents’ quality of life so that they can be satisfied wherever they live. Efforts are needed to improve the overall quality of life in the region, rather than focusing only on the quantity of population, such as the number of births and population inflow. To prevent population outflow in the region, it is desirable to build high-quality settlement conditions, such as jobs, housing, education, transportation, medical care, and culture.
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