Korea now grades 50 billion won of its depopulation fund on regional cooperation

Added up, the four tiers come to exactly 50 billion won across 15 regions ^[1][8][14]. Split evenly, the same pot would have paid each region about 3.3 billion won ^[17]. Measured against that, the two top-rated provinces gain about 3.3 billion won each, the six in the second tier gain under 100 million won each, and the seven below lose between 0.7 billion and 1.6 billion won each ^[18]. The amount moved is roughly 14% of the graded pot and about 0.7% of the fund's yearly 1 trillion won ^[18][2]. The old formula used population and fiscal conditions ^[5]. The source does not give what each region would have received under it, so the even split shows only how far the scores spread the money.

For a single province the stakes are larger than those percentages suggest. If the 150 billion won formula slice is shared among the same 15 regions, the average formula payout is 10 billion won ^[21]. The 4.9 billion won gap between a top and a bottom rating is about half of that ^[20].

Most of the account stays where it was. Counting the 50 billion won set aside for the investment fund, 100 billion won of the 250 billion won account, or 40%, now sits outside the automatic formula ^[19]. The scored portion is 20% of the account and 5% of the whole fund's year ^[15][16]. The ministry is introducing the evaluation to the metropolitan-level account ^[5], and the 750 billion won basic account for areas facing population decline is outside the change as reported ^[3].

Officials said population decline stems from housing, transportation, medical care and employment problems in combination, and that responses by individual local governments alone have limits ^[9]. The rated projects follow that logic, and most are still to be built. South Chungcheong Province will build the same kind of villages in Boryeong and Cheongyang and pursue integrated care projects using artificial intelligence ^[11]. South Gyeongsang Province will support a regional public children's rehabilitation hospital for residents of several areas ^[12]. North Chungcheong Province will run a mobile shop, the "Running General Store", in areas where buying groceries is difficult ^[13].

Two of the four criteria, resident demand and feasibility, are judgements about plans ^[7]. The complaint against the old formula was that it reflected neither project performance nor cooperation among local governments ^[4]. This year's scores can reward the cooperation; performance can be scored only once the villages and the hospital are running.

The grading could produce working coalitions across county lines. It could also produce single-county projects relabelled as joint ones, since the scores rate proposals, or a ranking that settles with the same provinces on top each year. We think the coalitions are the likelier result, because half an average formula share is worth the cost of writing a proposal with the next county ^[21]. The counter-case is the floor: every listed region collects at least 1.7 billion won, about half an even share ^[8][22]. If the lowest-rated regions come back with the same projects under a joint label, or sit at 1.7 billion won year after year, the score is a ranking with a guaranteed minimum. In that case our view is wrong.