Governor Kim Donggon's 'Cheongyang with 30,000 Residents' Policy Emerges as a National Policy Model

Highly Praised for Driving Force from Planning and Design to Presentation and National Assembly

Kim Donggon, Mayor of Cheongyang County

With Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong Province being selected as the final candidate for the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project, Cheongyang, once labeled as a region at risk of extinction, has now emerged as a national policy model.

At the heart of this policy turnaround-where a county with a population of less than 30,000, previously at risk of disappearing, has become a national model-was the decisive leadership and swift action of Governor Kim Donggon, who led the entire application process and raised the quality of the policy.

Both inside and outside the county, it is widely regarded that this achievement was made possible by Governor Kim’s leadership, as he was directly involved in every stage, from planning the proposal, drafting the application, preparing presentations, to persuading the National Assembly.

According to a comprehensive report by The Asia Business Daily on December 8, Governor Kim immediately declared an emergency response and formed a dedicated task force as soon as the government call for applications was announced. He and his team worked through weekends, nights, and even the Chuseok holiday, reviewing the project overnight. Public officials unanimously stated that they felt the governor’s strong message: “We absolutely cannot miss this opportunity.”

The policy design and proposal drafting were also effectively led by Governor Kim himself. He went beyond simply receiving reports, meticulously reviewing every detail of the policy structure and wording to ensure completeness.

As a result, the “Comprehensive Care System” and the “SMART Countywide Movement,” initiatives promoted during the eighth term of local government, were naturally integrated with the basic income model, earning high marks from the evaluation committee.

During the presentation review, Governor Kim clearly conveyed the message that “Cheongyang is already a region equipped to realize basic income,” and his approach of linking the established care, consumption, and welfare systems with basic income resonated with the evaluators.

After Cheongyang was selected for the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project, Governor Kim visited the National Assembly twice with representatives from the other six local governments to directly request an increase in the national funding ratio.

He persuaded lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties by emphasizing, “At the county level, it is difficult to sustain the project without national support,” which elicited a positive response that Cheongyang’s model was “the most realistic and well-prepared.”

In fact, Governor Kim is the only local government leader who has simultaneously engaged both the central government and the National Assembly after being selected for the pilot project.

It is also noteworthy that in November, he proposed the formation of a “Rural Basic Income Local Government Council (tentative name)” and led practical discussions, making him a strong candidate to serve as the council’s first president.

Currently, Cheongyang County is providing guidance on the project structure and application/payment procedures through resident information sessions in its 10 towns and townships.

At these sessions, Governor Kim emphasized, “By connecting basic income with care, consumption, and welfare, we will create a local circular economy,” and added, “By making the Cheongyang-style rural basic income model a success, we will prove that the future of rural areas can be transformed.”

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