Park Heong-jun, a candidate for Busan Mayor, launched his election campaign by unveiling a first-pledge centered on youth asset formation. Under the new policy framework of a "composite income era," Park aims to go beyond simple support and fundamentally restructure how young people accumulate assets.
Park announced his No. 1 pledge, "Composite Income YES! Basic Income NO! Youth 100 Million Won Is Possible!" at the briefing room of the Busan Metropolitan Council on Wednesday. The project is designed to allow Busan youth who save 250,000 won per month for 10 years to build assets of at least 100 million won ($73,000). By combining 30 million won in personal savings with matching funds from the Busan Metropolitan Government and investment returns from the Busan Future Fund, participants would accumulate an asset ladder totaling 100 million won. Structurally, the plan combines 30 million won from individuals with 70 million won from public and private sources (20 million won from city finances, plus development gains and fund returns).
The core of the pledge is "composite income." Park diagnosed that the era of designing one's life around a single job and a single monthly paycheck has ended. As the labor market is being reshaped by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, he recognizes that asset gaps have become a greater source of inequality than income gaps. Accordingly, his plan is to redesign the lifetime asset curve for young people by combining labor income with financial income and policy-supported income.
"While basic income is centered on redistribution, composite income is a policy of growing together," the campaign said. "Rather than handing out cash to young people, it is a partnership model in which youth and the city invest in each other's future."
The message is that "staying in Busan itself becomes an asset." Until now, heading to Seoul has been a survival strategy rather than a choice for young people, due to the concentration of jobs and asset-building opportunities in the greater Seoul area. Park emphasized that he would reverse this formula and create an environment where assets can be accumulated and futures designed in Busan as well.
However, Park distanced himself from simple cash handouts. "What needs to be cultivated alongside money is a discerning eye," he said, announcing the introduction of a "Busan-style Financial Citizen Program" that combines education on saving, investment, credit, and risk management starting before or after high school graduation. The intent is to raise young people not as policy beneficiaries but as financial actors who design their own assets.
The pledge targets both the youth and their parents' generation simultaneously. For young people, it provides a "100 million won ladder" as seed money for housing, start-ups, marriage, and childbirth. For the parents' generation, the city shares the burden of their children's housing and marriage costs, serving as a "retirement breakwater." The campaign emphasized that "the greatest welfare for parents is the assurance that their children can live in Busan without worry."
"I will end the era in which opportunities only arise by going to Seoul, and build a city where assets accumulate and opportunities open up even if you stay in Busan," Park said. "The key is the transition from young people who depend on monthly paychecks to young people who design their own assets."
Following the pledge announcement, Park plans to hold meetings with local university students and young people to gather opinions on the policy.
