Jeongseon County Selected for Rural Basic Income Pilot Project... 150,000 Won per Month for All Residents

On October 20, Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province (Governor Choi Seungjun) was finally selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ Rural Basic Income Pilot Project.

Jeongseon County Office Building.

The 'Rural Basic Income Pilot Project' promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs was open to 69 counties nationwide experiencing population decline. A total of 49 counties applied, and 12 counties were selected in the first round of document evaluation. On the 17th, a final presentation evaluation was conducted for these 12 counties, resulting in the selection of 7 counties.

The Rural Basic Income Pilot Project aims to fundamentally address the crisis of population extinction caused by population decline and regional economic stagnation. From 2026 to 2027, for two years, every resident of the selected counties will receive 150,000 won per month (1.8 million won per year) in local gift certificates.

Meanwhile, since 2020, Jeongseon County has been preparing in various ways to provide basic income to all residents and has demonstrated its implementation capabilities through the distribution of basic disaster income on four occasions.

The total project budget for this two-year basic income pilot project amounts to 116.784 billion won, with 46.713 billion won coming from the national government and 70.07 billion won from local governments. In 2026 alone, the project is expected to require a total budget of 5.8708 billion won. Jeongseon County plans to use dividends from Kangwon Land shares as a major funding source.

In connection with the basic income project, the county also plans to promote various initiatives to stimulate the local economy, such as revitalizing the public delivery app Meokgaebi, operating the Jeongseon Lokonomy Points system, and implementing circular wallets and reuse incentives.

Additionally, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province will devise measures to maximize the effectiveness of the Gangwon-style basic income support project and provide support to ensure its successful implementation.

Choi Seungjun, Governor of Jeongseon County, stated, "The unified support from our residents gave us the strength to be selected for this project," adding, "We will use this opportunity to create a successful model of Jeongseon-style basic income."

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