- Securing 1 billion KRW in Local Extinction Response Funds… Solving regional issues through solidarity and cooperation among local entities -

Chungcheongnam-do (Governor Park Su-hyun) is fully launching the "Chungnam-style Social Solidarity Economy," designed to resolve local issues through regional capabilities.

The province announced that it will execute four social solidarity economy projects totaling 4.5 billion KRW over a three-year period from 2026 to 2028. Having secured 1 billion KRW from the metropolitan account of this year’s Local Extinction Response Fund, the province plans to invest a total of 3 billion KRW in metropolitan funds and 1.5 billion KRW in municipal funds over the next three years.

Moving away from the traditional approach where administration single-handedly tackles regional issues, this initiative brings together diverse local stakeholders—including regional networks, intermediate support organizations, social enterprises, cooperatives, and residents—to discover and address regional demands collaboratively.

Over the years, Chungnam Province has continuously discussed regional pending issues, resident demands, and the role of the social solidarity economy in the field, exploring cooperative measures to solve local problems.

In particular, this initiative was formulated through a process where the public and private sectors jointly discovered projects and refined regional demands. The "Collective Impact" approach—where diverse local actors set common goals and connect their respective resources and capabilities to solve problems—will be applied throughout the entire project.

The initiatives will be implemented across four key sectors: Startups to create local jobs and income, Tourism leveraging local resources, Social Services supporting residents' daily lives, and AI to enhance the competitiveness of local organizations.

First, 1 billion KRW will be invested over three years to establish the "Local Social Solidarity Economy Startup Support System."

Based on regional problems and demands, the province will discover social solidarity economy startup founders and provide education, mentoring, and networking support. By utilizing shared offices within the Chungnam Social Economy Innovation Town and linking with municipal intermediate support organizations, the province aims to build a metropolitan-local startup support system that helps founders settle in the region.

Second, a total of 2 billion KRW—consisting of 1 billion KRW in metropolitan funds and 1 billion KRW in municipal funds—will be injected into the "Region-Circulating Sustainable Tourism Village."

By utilizing unique local resources such as culture, ecology, agriculture, and living heritage, the project will connect accommodation, food, agricultural products, culture, and experiences so that tourist consumption translates directly into local income and jobs. The goal is to build a region-circulating tourism model where profits generated from tourism are re-consumed and reinvested within the local community.

Finally, the "Rural and Fishing Village Social Services Pilot Model" will be promoted with a total scale of 1 billion KRW, comprising 500 million KRW in metropolitan funds and 500 million KRW in municipal funds.

Targeting nine population-declining areas, the project will identify gaps in daily local services such as care, education, mobility, food, and health. Social solidarity economy organizations, resident groups, and medical, welfare, and educational institutions will work together to pilot-test essential local services. Through this, the province plans to expand life services that residents can genuinely feel and reinforce regional settlement vitality.

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