인구위기시대 지방소멸대응기금의 개선방안과 향후 과제

Korea has recently crossed the threshold into a super-aged society, with more than one-fifth of its population aged 65 or older. Simultaneously, the country’s total fertility rate has declined to the lowest level globally. These demographic shifts, coupled with persistent population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area and accelerating depopulation in non-metropolitan regions, have intensified the risk of regional decline and local extinction. Against this backdrop, this article examines the normative underpinnings of Korea’s policies for depopulated regions and assesses the practical effectiveness of related fiscal support instruments. Focusing on the 89 depopulated regions and 18 regions classified as at risk of depopulation as of October 2021, the study explores the structural conditions of these regions, the challenges affecting residents’ quality of life, and the core provisions of the Special Act on Support for Depopulated Regions. Particular attention is given to the institutional design and operational limitations of the Local Extinction Response Fund. The analysis indicates that the Local Extinction Response Fund, established as a time-limited ten-year program, exhibits inherent weaknesses. These include intensified competition among local governments, growing administrative burdens, and an evaluation framework that prioritizes short-term outcomes. As a result, the fund has struggled to align its allocation mechanisms with long-term demographic objectives and the substantive needs of local communities. This paper therefore argues for a recalibration of the fund’s governance and evaluation system, emphasizing medium- to long-term assessment criteria and outcome measures centered on sustainable population trends and improvements in residents’ quality of life. It concludes that meaningful responses to population decline and regional extinction require a departure from short-term performance indicators and call for an integrated redesign of legal, institutional, and fiscal frameworks aimed at demographic stability and regional sustainability.