Lee Jae-myung Sends 'Handwritten Letters' to 190 Local Leaders: "Let's Join Forces for Basic Income"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, sent a letter to 190 local governments nationwide requesting their participation in the Basic Income Local Government Council, urging joint efforts to legislate and institutionalize the basic income policy.

In the letter sent to heads of local governments on the 6th, Governor Lee stated, "Gyeonggi Province confirmed that the two rounds of disaster basic income payments expanded the structurally weakened total demand and alleviated income polarization," adding, "Based on our experience promoting basic income policy as a welfare economic policy, we intend to make joint efforts to legislate and institutionalize the basic income policy, which is emerging as a national issue."

He continued, "The Basic Income Local Government Council is a gathering of local governments that share the necessity of the basic income policy, aiming to popularize and universalize the policy more broadly and to work together so that it can be legally institutionalized," and added, "Due to issues such as funding, it is difficult for local governments alone to sustain the policy. Joint efforts such as legislative activities to induce various supports at the central government level based on legal institutionalization are necessary."

The Basic Income Local Government Council is a consultative body composed of local governments that agree on the necessity of basic income and share the same vision. It was first proposed by Governor Lee Jae-myung at the 'Korea Council of Governors' held in October 2018.

Since then, Gyeonggi Province, along with local governments wishing to participate, jointly declared the launch of the council with 36 local governments at the 1st Korea Basic Income Expo held in April 2019.

In September last year, an official launch ceremony of the Basic Income Local Government Council was held with 48 local governments participating. Subsequently, the council's operating regulations were finalized in February this year.

To date, the number of local governments participating in the Basic Income Local Government Council has expanded to 53.

The province plans to hold the inaugural general meeting of the Basic Income Local Government Council at the '2021 Korea Basic Income Expo' to be held at KINTEX Exhibition Hall 1 in Ilsan, Goyang, on the 28th, and will jointly respond to the popularization and legal institutionalization of the basic income policy.

There are 243 local governments nationwide, including Gyeonggi Province.

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