44 Counties Compete for Additional Rural Basic Income Pilot Project; Final Selection in June

70.6 Billion Won in Supplementary Budget Allocated

Approximately Five Additional Counties to Be Selected

Forty-four counties have applied for the additional selection of rural basic income pilot sites. The government plans to make its final selection of five counties next month.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on May 10 that 44 counties had applied for the additional call for rural basic income pilot projects (2026–2027), which was held from April 20 to May 7 to expand the target areas. The ministry plans to select approximately five additional counties, resulting in a competition ratio of 8.8 to 1.

The rural basic income pilot project is currently being implemented in 10 counties that are designated as rural population-decline areas at high risk of extinction, aiming to address national challenges such as the risk of rural extinction and the deepening gap between regions, and to promote balanced development. As the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs secured an additional budget of 70.6 billion won in April to strengthen support for vulnerable rural areas affected by the Middle East conflict, a new call was made to select approximately five additional counties.

Excluding the 10 counties already participating in the pilot project, applications were accepted from 59 counties classified as population-decline areas. Of these, 44 counties expressed their intention to participate, resulting in a competition ratio of 8.8 to 1. A ministry official explained, "This high number of applications reflects broad agreement on the necessity and effectiveness of the rural basic income pilot project, which aims to improve residents’ quality of life, revitalize local economies, and restore community networks in rural areas."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will form an evaluation committee mainly comprising private-sector experts in rural policy, basic income, balanced regional development, and local finance, and will conduct fair document and presentation reviews to select and announce approximately five additional counties. However, reflecting on-the-ground feedback requesting an extension of the announcement schedule due to the need for a more thorough review of the 44 applications and concerns about overheated competition among local governments, the evaluation and selection schedule has been postponed to June.

Kang Dongyun, Director of Rural Income and Energy Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "Given the high level of interest and expectations for the rural basic income pilot project, we plan to carry out the additional selection process fairly and without delay. After the selection is finalized, we will actively support the pilot project so that it can be quickly established in the selected regions and deliver tangible results."

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