Six counties in South Gyeongsang Province — Uiryeong, Hadong, Sancheong, Hamyang, Geochang and Hapcheon — were eliminated in the first round of document screening for the government's additional call for applications to its "rural basic income pilot project." County chief winners across the province who pledged to introduce rural basic income now face inevitable setbacks in delivering on their promises.
The government internally announced the results of the first-round document screening last Wednesday. South Gyeongsang Province was confirmed Thursday to have no qualifying local governments.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected 10 counties, including Namhae County, as pilot project sites from among the 69 counties nationwide designated as population-declining areas late last year. It then conducted an additional call for applications in May targeting 59 counties nationwide, drawing 44 counties in total, including the six in South Gyeongsang. The ministry plans to conduct presentation evaluations of the local governments that pass the document screening and then select around five more this month.
Many candidates in this local election pledged rural basic income. Among the winners in South Gyeongsang, Sancheong County chief-elect Yoo Myung-hyun, Geochang County chief-elect Lee Hong-gi, and Hapcheon County chief-elect Kim Yoon-cheol, who won re-election, pledged rural basic income. Namhae County chief-elect Ryu Gyeong-wan promised to prepare for "an era of 300,000 won in basic income" by demanding that the government expand state funding. All of them pledged to implement basic income, but their elimination from the application process is expected to weaken the momentum for advancing the project.
Local governments facing the risk of regional extinction view rural basic income as a key policy for attracting population and reviving the local economy. The 10 counties where the pilot project is underway have reportedly seen positive effects since implementation, including increases in population and the number of new stores, intensifying the competition for applications.
However, some point out that local governments with weaker financial conditions are struggling to participate, as the local funding burden reaches 60% of the total project cost. As a result, calls to expand the proportion of state funding continue among some local governments. South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-su has also demanded that the state funding rate, currently 40%, be raised to at least 80%, arguing that the government is forcing excessive financial burdens on local governments despite the project being a government initiative. Without concrete plans to secure funding, expanding and sustaining the project is expected to prove difficult.
The rural basic income pilot project provides residents of population-declining areas with 150,000 won per month in local-love gift certificates to respond to population decline and the risk of regional extinction. The aim is to stimulate consumption by providing money that can only be spent within the region, and to prevent the crisis of disappearing rural areas.
The rural basic income budget is funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs at 40%, the province at 30%, and the county at 30%.
