Yeongyang-gun submits bids for 3 sites in Ministry of Justice correctional facility competition

Yeongyang-gun in North Gyeongsang Province has submitted applications to the Ministry of Justice's open competition for correctional facility sites, the county announced Tuesday, as part of efforts to overcome population decline and secure new growth drivers.

The three candidate sites are two locations in Samsan-ri, Ibam-myeon, and one in Sangcheong-ri, Cheonggi-myeon.

The county is highlighting strong community support as its key advantage in the bid.

A resident survey conducted through a specialized agency in 2022 found that 86.6 percent of county residents supported bringing in a correctional facility. The county has since held three public information sessions for residents in the candidate areas.

Yeongyang-gun plans to submit a full proposal by Nov. 4 and will actively respond to on-site inspections by the Ministry of Justice, concentrating its administrative resources through the final site selection expected in December.

"Securing a correctional facility is a golden opportunity to breathe new life into Yeongyang-gun, which has been struggling with population decline and aging," Yeongyang County Chief Oh Do-chang said. "We will focus all our capabilities on ensuring Yeongyang-gun is selected, backed by the strong will our residents have shown."

The competition is part of a Ministry of Justice project to build four new correctional facilities nationwide to address overcrowding and deteriorating conditions at existing facilities.

Each new facility will be built on a site of at least 192,000 square meters, with a capacity of 1,000 inmates and a permanent staff of at least 250. Construction costs are estimated at around 241.9 billion won ($181 million) per facility, to be financed through a build-transfer-lease arrangement.