Yeoncheon County to Receive "Rural Basic Income" for Two Years... 150,000 Won Monthly for All Residents

Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province has been finally selected as the site for the government's new "Rural Basic Income Pilot Project" to be launched next year.

Previously, the government selected Yeoncheon, Sunchang, Sinan, Yeongyang, Namhae, Cheongyang, and Jeongseon among 69 counties nationwide experiencing population decline as the final sites for the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project.

The Rural Basic Income Pilot Project is a regional extinction response policy promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It is an experimental basic income system that provides residents of rural areas suffering from population decline and aging with a monthly local gift certificate worth 150,000 won.

The project will be implemented for two years until 2027, and all residents who have their resident registration in the pilot areas and have lived there for more than 30 days are eligible for payment.

Gyeonggi Province has announced its plan to support Yeoncheon County by covering half of the local government funding that Yeoncheon is responsible for (the highest rate in the country) to help it be selected as a pilot area.

This is because the government’s Rural Basic Income Pilot Project structure, which is funded 40% by the central government and 60% by local governments, was deemed a major obstacle to implementation considering Yeoncheon County’s budget situation.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

With this selection, basic income will be provided to the estimated 44,000 residents of Yeoncheon County, and Gyeonggi Province will support Yeoncheon with 24 billion won annually.

In addition, to ensure smooth project implementation, Gyeonggi Province will establish a consultation channel among the provincial government, Yeoncheon County, the Gyeonggi Agro-Fisheries Promotion Agency, the Gyeonggi Research Institute, and the local currency operating agency. The parties will continuously discuss building an online application system, operational methods, and ways to maximize balanced regional development effects.

Lee Moonmu, Director of Agricultural Policy at Gyeonggi Province, said, "Yeoncheon County's final selection is an achievement made possible by the joint efforts of the province and the city and county governments," adding, "Gyeonggi Province will create a leading model for the nation to proactively improve residents’ quality of life and respond to the crisis of rural extinction."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province first implemented rural basic income in Cheongsan-myeon, Yeoncheon County in 2022 during the tenure of then-Governor Lee Jaemyung, and proved its effectiveness in various indicators such as life satisfaction, social interaction, and population growth.

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