South Korea introduces evaluation-based funding for local disappearance response

South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety has introduced a new evaluation-based differential distribution system for the Local Disappearance Response Fund's metropolitan support account. For the first time, 50 billion won of the 250 billion won metropolitan account will be allocated based on investment plan evaluations rather than fixed formulas.

The evaluation focuses on the ability of metropolitan governments to lead regional projects, coordinate between municipalities, and address issues that individual local governments cannot manage alone. Gangwon State and Chungcheongnam-do received the highest ratings, securing 6.6 billion won each. Other top performers included Busan, Daegu, Chungcheongbuk-do, Jeonbuk, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeju, which each received 3.4 billion won.

In the lower tiers, Gyeonggi-do, Daejeon, Ulsan, and Gyeongsangbuk-do were assigned a 'normal' rating, receiving 2.6 billion won. Incheon received 1.7 billion won following a 'fair' rating, despite proposing transportation connectivity projects between Ongjin-gun, Yeongjong-gu, and Jemulpo-gu. The fund, established in 2022 and running through 2031, aims to combat regional population decline through annual allocations of 1 trillion won.