Seoul City Safe Income, Improvement in Quality of Life for Supported Households? Increase in Earned Income Confirmed

1st Interim Investigation Results

Seoul City confirmed the current status of the first phase of the Safe Income support households, which began payments in July last year, revealing that essential living expenses such as medical and food costs have increased, while mental health indicators like depression and stress have improved. Additionally, more than half of the supported households experienced an increase in earned income.

On the 24th, Seoul City held a 'Seoul Safe Income Special Session' during the '2023 Korean Labor Economics Association Summer Conference' at Pusan National University and announced the 'First Interim Survey Results of the Safe Income Pilot Project.'

The Safe Income pilot project is a domestic first income guarantee policy experiment that supports half of the difference between median income and household income for low-income households in Seoul (below 85% of median income, assets under 326 million KRW). Last year, 484 households (with a comparison group of 1,039 households) below 50% of median income were selected for the first phase pilot project. Payments began in July last year and will continue for three years (until June 2025). This year, the target was expanded to households below 85% of median income, selecting 1,100 households (with a comparison group of 2,488 households) for the second phase, with payments starting in July and continuing for two years (until June 2025).

This special session shared the results of the first interim survey of the Safe Income pilot project implemented since July last year. The first survey was conducted on 1,523 households participating in the first phase pilot project (481 supported households and 1,038 comparison households), measuring changes in the lives of households receiving Safe Income payments for six months from July last year and those not receiving support.

The survey results showed significant improvements in the overall quality of life of Safe Income supported households, including ▲increased consumption of essential goods and services ▲improvements in mental health and nutritional status ▲and enhanced participation in social activities.

Among the first phase Safe Income supported households, 61 households (12.6%) were notified by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for arrears in utility bills such as electricity, water, or health insurance premiums (over three consecutive months). Among these, 28 households did not receive support from existing welfare programs. There were 227 households with a monthly household income below 500,000 KRW (the average monthly rent for a one-room apartment in Seoul is 540,000 KRW), and among them, 120 households were also not receiving support from current programs.

As a result of the regular income and asset change survey, 106 households reported experiencing an increase in earned income, while 84 households reported a decrease, indicating that more than half of the first phase supported households saw an increase in earned income.

Among the final 484 Safe Income supported households selected in July last year, 21 households currently have increased household income, including earned income, and no longer receive Safe Income payments. Additionally, 50 households exceeded the 50% median income threshold at the time of selection. This is attributed to the fact that while existing welfare programs exclude households once they exceed certain income thresholds, Safe Income provides continuous support without disqualification, automatically adjusting payments if household income decreases due to unemployment or other reasons, thus offering more comprehensive coverage.

Lee Su-yeon, Director of Welfare Policy at Seoul City, stated, “The Safe Income pilot project is not just about providing payments but is a policy experiment to verify the validity and effectiveness of introducing new welfare policies.” She added, “We expect that through continuous research, Safe Income will establish itself as a representative social safety net that addresses welfare blind spots.”

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