Gyeongnam Governor Kim Gyeong-su: "Universal Disaster Basic Income Should Be Introduced Excluding High-Income Earners"

Proposals to Eliminate Employment Insurance Blind Spots for Small Business Owners and Strengthen Job Safety Nets

Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo is proposing the government introduce a universal disaster basic income excluding high-income earners during the 'Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Video Conference' chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on the 18th. (Photo by Gyeongnam Province)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Woo-kwon] Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, proposed to the government that "following the supplementary budget for damage support due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis, urgent measures to overcome the economic crisis must be prepared."

Governor Kim stated this on the 18th during the 'Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters Video Conference' chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and the 'Gyeongnam Province COVID-19 Response Economic Measures Review Meeting,' saying, "I welcome the swift passage of the government's supplementary budget bill through the National Assembly."

Governor Kim first argued, "A universal disaster basic income should be introduced excluding high-income earners," adding, "Unlike South Korea, which is in a stabilization phase, COVID-19 is spreading globally. In a situation where exports are becoming difficult, the domestic market must be expanded."

He continued, "First, there needs to be discussion on the issue of how to set the income bracket for which support is unnecessary and whether to pre-select and exclude that bracket or to recover it through taxes after payment, but disaster basic income remains a valid alternative for urgent damage relief and revitalizing the domestic economy."

To ensure damage support without blind spots, he also proposed "strengthening the job safety net through employment insurance, etc."

Specifically, Governor Kim said, "There are still blind spots such as micro-business owners with low credit ratings who cannot receive management stabilization fund loans through supplementary budgets, and unemployed persons employed at small-scale workplaces who are not enrolled in employment insurance," and suggested ways to actively utilize employment insurance.

He added, "Although the target for management stabilization fund support through the regional credit guarantee foundation was expanded from credit grade 1 to 10, upon actual verification, there were no support cases for grades 9 and 10," and reported the field situation, saying, "Support is only possible if there are no loan delinquencies, tax arrears, and the person is not a credit defaulter, so micro-business owners who desperately need support are not receiving help."

As of 2019, the employment insurance enrollment rate eligible for unemployment benefits was 87% for regular workers but only 45% for non-regular workers. Among 4 million self-employed without employees, only 15,549 one-person micro-business owners were enrolled in employment insurance as of December 2019. The number of one-person micro-business owners who received employment insurance premium support was 2,491 in 2018 and 3,907 in the third quarter of 2019.

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