[Provided by Yeongyang-gun]
[Provided by Yeongyang-gun]

Yeongyang-gun in North Gyeongsang Province is mobilizing residents in a push to attract a new correctional facility to the county.

The county held a rally Tuesday at the Yeongyang Culture and Sports Center, drawing more than 500 residents to reaffirm their commitment to securing a correctional facility.

In 1981, when the Cheongsong No. 1 Protective Custody Center — now the North Gyeongsang Northern Correctional Facility — was established, Yeongyang-gun provided approximately 660,000 square meters of land in the Heunggu-ri area of Ibam-myeon without compensation.

At the time, more than 20 households in Yangjeong village were forced to relocate to other areas.

Since then, the county has faced restrictions on various development projects due to environmental regulations applied to areas upstream of the correctional facility's water intake.

County officials say the region has missed out on development opportunities, including a large-scale private investment plan during the eighth elected-term administration that fell through because of those same regulations.

The county argues that, having contributed to the national corrections system and endured both resident sacrifices and development constraints, it deserves to host a new correctional facility — one that would bring a stable resident population and open a new chapter for local growth.

At the rally, residents held up hand-painted signs and chanted "Correctional facility! To Yeongyang!" to express their strong support for the bid.

Yeongyang-gun County Chief Oh Do-chang said the bid represented "a vital opportunity to overcome the crisis of regional depopulation and inject new energy into the local economy," adding that he would "do everything possible to ensure we succeed in attracting the facility by uniting the will of our residents."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice is conducting a public competition to select sites for four new correctional facilities nationwide.

Yeongyang-gun submitted its application on Oct. 12 and plans to file a detailed proposal by Nov. 4, after which it will respond to follow-up procedures including on-site inspections and location assessments.


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