Lee Jae-myung "Basic Income Improves Quality of Life... Critics Exaggerate Its Futility"

Finland Social Security Agency Basic Income Experiment Report "Small Employment Effect but Improved Well-being"
Lee Jae-myung "Significant Findings... Reduce Unemployment Shock and Enhance Quality of Life"

On the morning of the 8th last month, Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, held a press conference in the briefing room of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government regarding the simultaneous payment of disaster basic income by Gyeonggi Province and 18 cities and counties. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized the "very meaningful findings" regarding the Finnish basic income policy experiment report.

On the 7th, Lee introduced the results of the Finnish experiment in a post on his Facebook, stating, "People who received basic income showed higher life satisfaction and greater trust in others and society compared to those who did not, while experiencing less stress, depression, sadness, and loneliness."

The day before, the Finnish Social Insurance Institution (KELA) announced in a press release that "the employment rate of basic income recipients improved slightly compared to the control group (those who did not receive basic income)," adding, "During the experiment period, basic income increased employment days by about 6 days, and basic income recipients were employed for an average of 78 days." This is interpreted to mean that the employment effect was generally small.

However, among KELA survey respondents, basic income recipients reported greater life satisfaction and felt less mental pressure, depression, sadness, and loneliness compared to the control group.

Regarding this, Governor Lee said, "Unemployment benefits, which are paid only when not working, inherently create a conflict between receiving benefits and labor," adding, "Basic income, which is paid regardless of working or not, does not conflict with labor. The experimental result of increased employment days suggests that the latter stimulates the willingness to work more than the former."

He continued, "This directly overturns the conservative opposition party's claim that 'increasing welfare makes people lazy and unwilling to work,'" and criticized, "Despite confirmation that basic income does not diminish the will to work but rather improves quality of life while also having a labor incentive effect, they exaggerate and raise arguments about the uselessness of basic income."

He further emphasized, "Basic income was not originally intended as a job policy aimed at immediately inducing employment effects," adding, "It is a mechanism to sustain the existing economic ecosystem and system by providing a minimum income to reduce the shock of unemployment and improve quality of life."

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