Jeonju City Introduces Korea's First Disaster Basic Income... '50 Million KRW Support per Person for 50,000 Vulnerable Individuals'

Jeonju-type Disaster Basic Income 14 Billion Won and 54.3 Billion Won Supplementary Budget Submitted
Payments May Start as Early as This Month

Kim Seung-su, Mayor of Jeonju / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do, has decided to provide disaster basic income support for the first time nationwide to urgently support the livelihood stability of vulnerable groups struggling due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 10th, Jeonju City announced that it has prepared an emergency supplementary budget proposal totaling 54.3 billion KRW, including 25 billion KRW in disaster basic income support for low-income citizens excluded from government support and 13.4 billion KRW in support funds for small business owners, and submitted it to the Jeonju City Council.

The disaster basic income support is a system that directly provides money to citizens whose livelihoods have become difficult due to reduced income caused by the disaster.

If the budget proposal is approved by the Jeonju City Council on the 13th, disaster basic income payments will begin this month after eligibility screening.

The city will provide 500,000 KRW to vulnerable groups with a median income of 80% or less. The support funds will be provided via check cards and can only be used within the local area.

The support targets are vulnerable groups with a median income of 80% or less, including unemployed persons, non-wage workers, and irregular workers who are unable to engage in normal economic activities due to the impact of COVID-19.

Recipients are required to use the funds within three months to revitalize the local commercial district.

However, small business owners receiving support through other programs, basic livelihood security recipients, unemployment benefit recipients, and those eligible for government supplementary budget support are excluded from the target.

The city also presented six basic principles of the Jeonju-type emergency livelihood stabilization disaster basic income based on these contents.

The six principles are △support for citizens in crisis and prohibition of overlapping support △direct support △local economic revitalization △temporariness △urgency, etc. Through basic income, the city plans to help vulnerable groups in crisis due to COVID-19 and lead local economic revitalization.

Separately, the city plans to invest 9.2 billion KRW to support small business owners in cooperation with Jeollabuk-do by providing 600,000 KRW per business for public utility charges such as electricity bills (totaling 13.4 billion KRW) and supporting employer contributions to the four major social insurance premiums up to 100,000 KRW per person per month for 10 months.

In particular, 2.05 billion KRW has been included in the supplementary budget for the travel and tourism industries, which have been severely affected by COVID-19.

Additionally, the city included budgets in the supplementary budget for equipment support for health center screening clinics, disinfection supplies for welfare facilities, emergency infectious disease countermeasures, disinfection labor cost support, expansion projects for negative pressure facility equipment, and book sterilizer support.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.