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Gov't basic income program for rural towns draws fire over fairness, financial concerns

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 13:49 Updated: 21 Oct. 2025, 16:42

Park Sung-woo, director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Rural Policy Bureau, announces the selection results for the pilot rural basic income project at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong on Oct. 20. [NEWS1]

The government’s plan to introduce a basic income program for rural communities is drawing controversy, as critics question the fairness of distributing equal payments to all residents while many local governments face financial strain.

The Lee Jae Myung administration will launch a pilot rural basic income project in seven counties — Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi, Jeongseon County in Gangwon, Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong, Sunchang County in North Jeolla, Sinan County in South Jeolla, Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang and Namhae County in South Gyeongsang — according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and local governments on Tuesday.

The goal is to revitalize regions facing population decline through direct cash support. A total of 69 counties nationwide applied for the program.

The two-year pilot will run from early next year through the end of 2027. Every resident in the selected areas will receive 150,000 won ($105) per month in the form of local gift certificates, amounting to 1.8 million won annually. There are no income or age limits, meaning a four-person household will receive 600,000 won each month.

The government estimates the total cost at 886.7 billion won over two years — 327.8 billion won in central government funding and 558.9 billion won in local contributions.

The project received an exemption from the preliminary feasibility study requirement in August after review by the Cabinet and the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee. Usually, projects exceeding 50 billion won in total cost or 30 billion won in central government funds must undergo a year-end tax adjustment review before proceeding.

In Cheongyang County, the program is expected to cost 108 billion won, with 40 percent funded by the central government and 60 percent shared between the county and the South Chungcheong government.

To secure the local budget, Cheongyang plans to postpone public building projects, suspend subsidy payments and temporarily halt its existing support programs for farmers and young residents.

Participants chant slogans during a press conference of 500 people calling for the legislation of a rural basic income at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on Sept. 12. [NEWS1]

“If the province refuses to contribute, we will cover the full cost with our own budget,” a Cheongyang County official said. “Our population has dropped below 30,000, and we felt we had no choice but to participate in hopes that this might help bring people back.”

Cheongyang’s population, once over 100,000 in the 1960s, has fallen to about 29,000. The county has offered generous incentives to boost births, providing 5 million won for a first child and up to 30 million won for a fifth.

But South Chungcheong Gov. Kim Tae-heum voiced concerns during a visit to Cheongyang on Monday.

“Cheongyang’s annual discretionary budget is about 30 billion won,” he said. “If half that goes to this project, how will the county handle other pending issues? I’m happy that Cheongyang was selected, but it frustrates me to think about what this means for the province and the country.”

Earlier this month, Kim criticized the initiative as “a form of populism.”

“If we give the same amount to everyone regardless of income, we’ll fail to support those who truly need help and only deepen local debt,” he said on Oct. 1.

South Gyeongsang Gov. Park Wan-su also questioned the plan.

“If this continues, the government might as well take over the entire provincial budget and run the program directly,” he said. “It undermines local autonomy and drains regional finances.”

Gyeongsang officials have requested that the central government raise its funding share to as much as 80 percent to ease the financial burden on local governments.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM BANG-HYUN [[email protected]]