The grand prizes at the 2nd SBS-Ministry of the Interior and Safety Hometown Love Donation Awards, held today on September 4 for "Hometown Love Day" at the SBS Prism Tower in Sangam-dong, Seoul, went to Goheung-gun (Mayor Gong Young-min) of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, Yeongju-si (Mayor Hwang Byeong-jik) of North Gyeongsang Province, and Anseong-si (Mayor Kim Bo-ra) of Gyeonggi Province.


Following its grand prize win at last year's Hometown Love Donation Awards, Anseong-si was recognized for its achievements by winning for the second consecutive year, while Goheung-gun and Yeongju-si simultaneously received the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award and the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Award, respectively, along with their grand prizes.


Goheung-gun promoted designated donation projects to preserve historical and cultural assets and ranked first in South Jeolla Province in terms of fundraising amounts through experiential programs combining donations, volunteering, and travel for the first time nationwide.


Yeongju, famous for specialty products such as apples and Hanwoo beef, established a return-gift quality control system that donors can trust and utilized private platforms and networks of natives living elsewhere to increase its fundraising amount by 440 percent compared to the previous year, achieving a nationwide top-tier growth rate.

In addition, Anseong-si, which recorded the highest fundraising performance in the province for two consecutive years, achieved results that far exceeded its target through various empathetic designated donation projects, including support for simple breakfast meals for students. It also received favorable reviews for establishing a regular public-private cooperative system by forming a return-gift supplier council.


Minister of the Interior and Safety Yoon Ho-joong emphasized in his commemorative speech, "Starting next year, regions with declining populations and difficult fiscal conditions will receive more benefits the more donations they attract. We will continue to steadily pursue necessary institutional improvements, such as expanding tax credits and introducing corporate donations, so that donations can become a greater source of strength for local regions."


SBS President Bang Moon-shin stated in his welcoming remarks, "Facing the critical issues of population decline and regional extinction, we are pondering together and striving to find solutions, and SBS is truly dedicated to reviving local regions."

The gold prizes were awarded to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Wi Sung-gon), Sokcho-si in Gangwon Province (Mayor Lee Byeong-sun), and Dong-gu in the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Mayor Lim Taek). The silver prizes went to Jung-gu in Daejeon Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Je-sun), Buan-gun in North Jeolla Province (Mayor Kwon Ik-hyun), and Hadong-gun in South Gyeongnam Province (Mayor Kim Hyun-soo).

The bronze prizes were won by the Busan Metropolitan City Hall (Mayor Jeon Jae-su), Andong-si in North Gyeongsang Province (Mayor Kwon Ki-chang), and Jincheon-gun in North Chungcheong Province (Mayor Kim Myung-sik).

In the special prize category, Boryeong-si in South Chungcheong Province (Mayor Eom Seung-yong), which established a donation model linking the resolution of welfare blind spots and tourism resources among population-decline regions, received the Balanced Development Excellence Award.

Yeosu-si in the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Mayor Seo Young-hak), which turned return gifts into an opportunity for regional visits and utilized fund projects as a channel for population and consumption inflow, won the Regional Economy Revitalization Award.

In addition, Yeoncheon-gun in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Duk-hyun), which saw an increase in population by directly overcoming the crisis of regional extinction through environmental improvement projects including the introduction of hydrogen buses to assist youth mobility and the creation of barrier-free tourism infrastructure in the harsh environment of a military city, won the Regional Extinction Crisis Outstanding Response Award.


SBS, which became the first media outlet last year to host the 1st Hometown Love Donation Awards to highlight the achievements of the Hometown Love Donation System and encourage and spread best practices, co-hosted the 2nd Hometown Love Donation Awards ceremony this time by joining hands with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, its competent ministry.

Among the awarded organizations today, 13 received a share of 500 million won in special local grants from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

SBS and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will hold the 1st Hometown Love Festa at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on September 19 and 20, featuring an exhibition and experiential event showcasing return gifts from major local governments across the country.

Various prize events to encourage on-site donations will be held on the day, and an academic seminar sharing best practices of hometown love donations, hosted by the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration, will take place simultaneously.