President Lee Jae-myung visits pilot areas of Cheongsong and Yeongyang in Gyeongbuk on October 31… Promises merchants to "pay more attention to finances"
Cheongsong County Mayor Yoon Kyung-hee claims, "Population increased by 1,500 just 2 to 3 months after implementing the basic income, expecting 3,000 more in the future"
Government 2027 budget proposal increases rural basic income by 282.6% from 234.1 billion to 1.1658 trillion won… Expanding target counties from 17 to 35
Yeongyang County's population collapses below 16,000 again by late June… Budget surges first without verification of moves and settlements
The idea that "people will live if you give them 200,000 won a month" is being put into practice with a 1 trillion won national budget. On October 31, President Lee Jae-myung made a previously unannounced visit to Cheongsong-gun and Yeongyang-gun in North Gyeongsang Province, which are rural basic income pilot areas, to directly check the effectiveness of the policy. As the President discussed the expansion of basic income and the alleviation of financial burdens at the pilot project site, promising to "pay more attention to the financial sector so that the basic income can be implemented stably," this policy is now entering a phase where it is fixed as a direction of state affairs rather than a mere pilot.
According to the Blue House, President Lee toured restaurants, butcher shops, marts, and pharmacies near Jinbo Traditional Market in Jinbo-myeon, Cheongsong-gun on this day to hear the reactions of merchants. When President Lee asked a young merchant who started a business in the township about their struggles, the merchant replied, "My goal was to open one shop, but because of the basic income, it's worth doing business." Cheongsong County Mayor Yoon Kyung-hee said, "The population increased by 1,500 just two to three months after implementing the basic income, and we expect it to grow up to 3,000 in the future." President Lee had a beef soup lunch with Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Song Mi-ryung and others, and also listened to ways to ease the burden on local finances.
However, looking into the numbers, there is a wide gap between the on-the-ground sentiment and the financial future. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the rural basic income pays 150,000 won per resident per month in local currency, while some counties like Cheongsong and Yeongyang add county funds to provide 200,000 won a month. The initial payout alone for the 7 counties additionally selected in August of this year was 56.7 billion won, and the Ministry of Planning and Budget's 2027 budget proposal announced a 282.6% increase in the pilot project budget from this year's 234.1 billion won (304.7 billion won including supplementary budget) to 1.1658 trillion won, more than doubling the target areas from 17 counties to 35 counties. The national government subsidy rate will also be raised from 40% to 50%.
The problem is that there is yet no empirical evidence to support that budget. According to media analysis, Yeongyang County saw an increase of 820 people until May of this year following the confirmation of the pilot area, but by the end of June, the population fell back to 15,972, breaking the 16,000 mark again. Cheongsong's influx of 1,500 people also requires prior verification of actual residency, and it has not been verified whether the increase in local currency consumption is new consumption or a shift in existing consumption. Spending 1 trillion won to temporarily increase the population by spraying local currency every month is not a policy, but spending for the sake of circulation. The real answer for regions facing extinction is not unconditional cash, but settlement through jobs, housing, and regulatory reform, and quadrupling the budget before even verifying this is building up another burden to be repaid by the younger generation. The government must first finalize the performance analysis of the pilot project, and the National Assembly must thoroughly check it during the 2027 budget review process so that expenditures whose sustainability is not proven are no longer expanded.