Global Scholars Highly Praise Seoul City's Income Guarantee Experiment

International Didimdol Income Forum at DDP on the 7th
'Basic Income vs Didimdol Income' Question
Luke Scheffer: "Selective Approach Preferable for Now"
Funding and Integration with Existing Welfare Systems Needed for Policy Development

World-renowned scholars have praised the second-year results of Seoul City's income security experiment, Didimdol Income. In particular, some expressed the view that Didimdol Income is currently more desirable than the basic income advocated by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party and a presidential rival of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. They mentioned that for the nationwide expansion of Didimdol Income and to achieve long-term results, it is necessary to consider funding methods and linkage with existing systems.

According to Seoul City on the 8th, domestic and international scholars attending the '2024 Seoul International Didimdol Income Forum' held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) the previous day showed positive reactions to the second-year results of Didimdol Income. Unlike basic income, which provides a fixed amount equally to all citizens, Didimdol Income supports a certain percentage of household income shortfall relative to the median income, providing more support to those with lower income. The second-year research results revealed at the forum showed that the rate of withdrawal from benefits increased by 3.8 percentage points from the first year (4.8%) to 8.6% (132 households).

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is taking a group photo with attending guests at the opening ceremony of the '2024 Seoul International Didimdol Income Forum' held at DDP on the morning of the 7th.
Photo by Seoul City

"Selective Didimdol Income is better than Basic Income"

Luc Chancel, director of the World Inequality Lab, said in his keynote speech, "It is very important to have diverse feedback between policy and research, and through this, the sustainability of the system can be ensured," adding, "This aspect is hard to find in other income security systems, so I highly appreciate it." David Grusky, professor of sociology at Stanford University, also remarked during the panel discussion following the Didimdol Income performance presentation, "I cannot find any flaws."

At the event, a question was raised about which is more desirable between Lee Jae-myung's 'basic income' and Mayor Oh's Didimdol Income, and the scholars sided with Didimdol Income. Luke Shaffer, professor at the University of Michigan who supervised cash transfer income experiments in the U.S., said, "It seems difficult to find evidence supporting universal basic income at this time," and added, "I have personal interest in universal basic income, but for now, selective payment systems are more desirable."

Fasi Moisio, research professor at the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare who experienced the basic income experiment in 2017, also agreed with Professor Shaffer, saying, "Universal payments require reforms that change the tax system."

Ryuca Chansel, Director of the World Inequality Lab (from left), Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, and David Grusky, Professor at Stanford University, are having a special discussion at the '2024 Seoul International Didimdol Income Forum' held at DDP on the 7th. Photo by Seoul City

Challenges Presented: 'Funding' and 'Linkage with Existing Welfare Systems'

Challenges to consider for expanding Didimdol Income from an 'experiment' within Seoul to a nationwide policy were also presented.

Director Chancel asked in a pre-interview about ways to secure finances and utilize the tax system when Didimdol Income becomes policy. Mayor Oh responded, "In 5 to 6 years, domestic welfare expenditure will be about 20% of GDP," and said, "In the Didimdol Income experiment, the threshold was set at 85% of median income, but at the initial stage of policy implementation, starting from 65% of median income and gradually investing resources to reach the final goal of 85% of median income would allow the level to be raised to a manageable scale according to the country's economic size."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is delivering a welcome speech at the opening ceremony of the '2024 Seoul International Didimdol Income Forum' held at DDP on the morning of the 7th. Photo by Seoul City

Professor Moisio advised that linkage with related systems such as existing welfare and employment systems is important. He said, "What we realized 7 to 8 years after Finland's basic income experiment was that support is needed not only for income but also for other services," adding, "We need to consider how to connect Didimdol Income, which has the nature of a negative income tax, with other employment services and social support services. I am curious about what results the next stage will lead to in Korea." Professor Lee Jeong-min of Seoul National University, who is in charge of the Didimdol Income performance research, said, "As Professor Moisio mentioned, I think it points out the close relationship with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's social services and the Ministry of Employment and Labor's employment policies," and added, "I think we need to expand the ongoing consistency research."

Seoul City is currently operating a consistency task force analyzing the entire social security system to study ways to link or consolidate it with Didimdol Income and its funding. Mayor Oh said, "If the results appear after three years of experimenting with Didimdol Income, including the consistency research results, my dream is to start discussions on nationwide implementation around the second half of next year without hesitation."

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