Namhae Rural Basic Income Budget Restored by Provincial Council Committee

The provincial budget for Namhae County's rural basic income pilot project in South Gyeongsang Province, which had faced complete elimination, has been revived.

The Budget and Accounts Special Committee of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Council on January 10 passed a revised 2026 provincial budget that restored 12.63 billion won in provincial funding for Namhae County's rural basic income program while adjusting allocations for some other projects.

In restoring the provincial funding, the committee adopted a supplementary resolution calling for the project to proceed with an increased national government contribution rate and for the province to develop financial support measures for other cities and counties not covered by the rural basic income program.

The project was originally designed with a 40% national government share and 60% local government share. The local portion was to be covered by combining provincial and county funds, with South Gyeongsang Province and Namhae County submitting a budget proposal allocating 18% to the province and 42% to the county when applying for the government's competitive selection process, which resulted in their designation as a pilot project site. Under this arrangement, the total budget for next year's rural basic income project was initially set at 70.2 billion won, with the national government contributing 28.08 billion won (40%), the province 12.636 billion won (18%), and Namhae County 29.484 billion won (42%).

However, during the budget review process, the National Assembly attached a supplementary resolution calling for the project to proceed with an increased national government contribution rate. Confusion grew when another supplementary resolution stated that "national funding may be withheld if provincial funding does not account for at least 30%."

Subsequently, the Agriculture, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Committee of the South Gyeongsang Provincial Council on January 3 eliminated the entire 12.63 billion won in provincial funding, citing concerns about excessive local government spending, potential abuse through fraudulent address registration, and characterizing the policy as a populist measure that could harm other cities and counties.

With the Budget and Accounts Special Committee now restoring the full amount of the eliminated provincial funding, Namhae County's rural basic income project has escaped the immediate crisis of cancellation. However, the committee adopted supplementary resolutions calling for the project to proceed with an increased national government contribution rate and for the development of financial support measures for other cities and counties not covered by the program. The provincial council is scheduled to finalize the budget at its plenary session on January 16.

Challenges remain. Even if the budget is finalized as proposed, it still fails to meet the 30% provincial funding requirement specified in the National Assembly's supplementary resolution. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs had previously notified South Gyeongsang Province and others that national funding would not be allocated if provincial funding did not reach 30% of the rural basic income project budget, in an effort to reduce the burden on rural areas. As a result, calls are growing for solutions such as utilizing the Local Extinction Response Fund or having the local governments selected for the pilot project jointly request increased national funding from the central government.

"We bow our heads in gratitude for what was an unprecedented and difficult decision by the South Gyeongsang Provincial Council," Namhae County said. "We take seriously the various concerns and opinions raised during this review process. We will concentrate all administrative capabilities to thoroughly prepare supplementary measures to address the concerns raised, ensuring the validity and effectiveness of the policy as well as transparency and accountability in budget execution as the project moves forward."

The rural basic income pilot project is designed to provide all residents in designated project areas with local currency worth 150,000 won per person per month from next year through 2027. In October, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected seven areas as pilot project sites: Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province, Jeongseon in Gangwon Province, Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province, Sunchang in North Jeolla Province, Shinan in South Jeolla Province, Yeongyang in North Gyeongsang Province, and Namhae in South Gyeongsang Province. This month, three additional areas were added: Okcheon in North Chungcheong Province, Jangsu in North Jeolla Province, and Gokseong in South Jeolla Province.