Seoul City Launches Pilot Project for 'Ansim Income'... Expert Advisory Group Appointed

Lower Income, Greater Support: Korea's First Pilot Project of the 'Ansim Income' Welfare System with a Bottom-Up Approach
24 Experts in Welfare and Economy Form 'Seoul Ansim Income Pilot Project Advisory Group' to Design the Pilot Project

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City is launching the country's first pilot project of the "Ansim Income," a welfare system that provides more substantial support to households facing relatively greater livelihood difficulties.

On the 27th, Seoul City announced that it will form and operate the Seoul Ansim Income Pilot Project Advisory Group to design the pilot project. Given the project's direct connection to people's livelihoods, 24 experts from various fields including welfare, economics, management, employment, social sciences, future studies, and statistics were invited.

At 10 a.m. on the same day, Seoul City held an appointment ceremony for the Ansim Income Pilot Project Advisory Group at the City Hall's main conference room, attended by Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the advisory group members, where appointment certificates were awarded. Following this, the first meeting was held to commence full-scale activities.

Starting with the first meeting, the Seoul Ansim Income Pilot Project Advisory Group plans to conduct in-depth discussions on the pilot project's basic direction, target groups, participant selection methods, and statistical and analytical approaches for performance indicators after project implementation.

Seoul City aims to devote all efforts to designing a project that guarantees "a basic life for all citizens" despite the labor and income polarization phenomena brought about by the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. "Ansim Income" is a system that provides cash support at a certain rate of the income shortfall to households whose annual income falls below a certain threshold. It is one of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's key pledges to realize the values of fairness and coexistence. Although discussions on "Ansim Income" have taken place in domestic academia and politics, it has not been implemented as an actual project until now.

Seoul City expects five major effects from the introduction of "Ansim Income": alleviation of income polarization, motivation to work, economic revitalization, supplementation of existing welfare and administrative procedures, and meaningful guaranteed minimum income. It is anticipated to identify and support low-income households in welfare blind spots, thereby mitigating income polarization and offsetting the side effects of existing welfare systems where individuals with work ability do not work for fear of losing eligibility.

Furthermore, as the annual income of low-income households increases, it is expected to lead to desirable consumption such as savings, contributing to asset formation, which in turn will promote economic revitalization and the upward leveling of citizens' quality of life.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated, "With the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, economically vulnerable citizens face even greater hardships, making the establishment of a robust public social safety net an urgent necessity. Seoul City will promote the pilot project with a meticulous and careful approach to bring about progressive changes in citizens' lives."

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