Five Additional Counties to Be Accepted for Rural Basic Income Pilot Project...Payments to Begin in July This Year

Final Selection Scheduled for Mid-May

The government has decided to select five additional locations for the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project, which is being promoted to overcome the crisis of depopulation in rural and fishing communities.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on April 20 that it will accept applications until May 7 to select additional counties to participate in the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project, with the final selections to be made around mid-May.

The Rural Basic Income Pilot Project is a policy introduced for counties among rural and fishing communities at high risk of depopulation, aiming to address national issues such as the risk of rural extinction and widening regional disparities, and to promote balanced development. Previously, basic income has been provided to 10 counties selected through a public contest.

This public contest will accept additional applications from all 59 counties designated as depopulation areas, excluding the 10 counties already participating in the pilot project. The plan is to select approximately five counties as project sites within the available budget.

Counties newly selected will provide Rural Basic Income of 150,000 won per person per month in the form of local gift certificates to residents who are registered and actually living in the area, starting from July this year. An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs explained, "This is not simply a cash support policy, but is intended to create a virtuous economic cycle within rural communities through local spending and to build a structure for balanced regional development." The official added, "The Ministry will use basic income as a catalyst to transform rural areas into places where people return and choose to stay, and to help restore vitality to local communities."

The evaluation will follow the same procedures and assessment indicators as the previous contest, but, given the need for swift implementation, additional criteria regarding the ability to deploy resources and commitment to the project have been established. Detailed information regarding the contest can be found in the announcement posted on the Ministry’s website.

Minister Song Miryung stated, "Since the implementation of the Rural Basic Income Pilot Project, tangible effects such as increased population inflow and revitalization of local businesses have already been observed. We will quickly select additional regions so that these achievements can spread further." She continued, "To ensure that basic income is established in the community in line with policy objectives, we will continue listening to voices from the field and will actively promote the revitalization of the social solidarity economy to expand lacking services in these areas."

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