[Seoul Economy] Starting next year, a pilot project for basic rural income will distribute local gift certificates worth 150,000 KRW per person to all residents in seven selected counties: Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi, Jeongseon in Gangwon, Cheongyang in Chungnam, Sunchang in Jeonbuk, Shinan in Jeonnam, Yeongyang in Gyeongbuk, and Namhae in Gyeongnam. Residents who have lived in these areas for more than 30 days are eligible for this basic income.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 20th that it had selected these seven counties for the pilot project. Park Sung-woo, director of the ministry’s rural policy bureau, stated that all residents meeting the specified residency criteria, regardless of age, would receive the income and that the financial feasibility and capacity of local governments were also assessed.
The government is pushing forward with the “basic rural income pilot project” as a national task to counter the risk of rural depopulation and aging demographics. The ministry aims to develop a sustainable policy model tailored to rural conditions and validate its effectiveness through this pilot before considering full implementation.
Scheduled to commence early next year, the basic rural income will be in a pilot phase for two years, with residents receiving local gift certificates valued at 150,000 KRW monthly. These certificates can only be used within local businesses. Park noted that the initiative is intended to stimulate local consumption and emphasized that cash subsidies are not under consideration.
In certain regions, revenues from renewable energy generation, such as solar and wind power, will be utilized as a source of funding for the basic income. For instance, Shinan in Jeonnam plans to share revenues from energy facilities with all residents through an agreement between a resident cooperative and the local government, while Yeongyang in Gyeongbuk aims to use wind power generation funds.
A total of 886.7 billion KRW will be invested into the basic rural income over the two-year pilot period, with 327.8 billion KRW provided by the central government, and the remainder sourced from local government budgets.
The project initially solicited applications from 69 counties experiencing population decline, with 49 counties applying. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs then selected seven counties based on a comprehensive evaluation of the risk of regional extinction, development levels, and plans for leveraging basic income to generate tangible results, under the guidance of an expert committee chaired by Professor Kang Nam-hoon of Hanshin University. This number is one more than initially planned.
This pilot project is particularly focused on testing the outcomes across various rural conditions, emphasizing factors like ordinance enactment and similar policy implementation experience for the project’s long-term sustainability post-trial. The ministry plans to undertake administrative preparations in accordance with preliminary plans for each county to ensure smooth operation. To evaluate the pilot’s policy effectiveness, it will establish measurement indicators, analysis methods, and a comprehensive evaluation system within the year.
Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Song Mi-ryeong, expressed confidence that the basic rural income would catalyze regional economic and community revitalization, serving as a cornerstone for national balanced development, and pledged continued policy support.