Yoo Seung-min Proposes Final Debate with Lee Jae-myung on 'Basic Income vs Fair Income'

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, is being interviewed by Yonhap News at the Hope 22 office in Yeouido, Seoul.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] Yoo Seung-min, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, proposed on the 26th to Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, saying, "Basic income and fair income are not 'cousins' but 'strangers.' This is not something to be brushed off with a 'Why are cousins like this?'" and suggested having a final debate.

Yoo wrote on his Facebook on the same day, "Fair income targets low-income groups and provides more support the lower the income, while basic income is paid equally to all citizens," explaining this point.

Regarding administrative costs related to wealth income tax (fair income), he said, "The income of salaried workers in our country is as transparent as a glass wallet, and most self-employed people have card sales, so it is not difficult to grasp income," adding, "There is no need to worry much about administrative costs for selecting recipients."

He also added, "Fair income will be handled by the National Tax Service, so please do not underestimate the Korean National Tax Service, which is already very efficient at collecting taxes."

In response to Governor Lee's remark that "Nobel laureates in economics also argue that carbon tax should be divided as carbon tax basic income," Yoo rebutted that basic income and carbon dividends are distinctly different.

He pointed out, "Carbon dividends mean that since energy prices rise due to the carbon tax, which burdens the people, the carbon tax revenue is returned as dividends to reduce the burden on citizens, thereby reducing political resistance," and "If carbon emissions decrease due to the carbon tax, carbon tax revenue and carbon dividends also decrease, so carbon dividends cannot be considered basic income from the start."

Regarding Governor Lee's 'basic income land tax,' Yoo criticized, "I want to ask how many new taxes are going to be created for basic income," and "It is astonishing audacity to think that the public can be deceived with lies that another real estate tax will control housing prices."

Finally, Yoo said, "Isn't this kind of Facebook debate a bit frustrating?" and added, "If Governor Lee's rebuttal was not written by someone else, let's meet anytime for a 'final debate on fair income versus basic income' between the two of us."

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