President Lee: "Permanent Introduction and Increase of Rural Basic Income Would Have Greater Impact"

President Lee Jae-myung, who is currently visiting Belgium, has publicly raised the need for the permanent adoption of the Rural Basic Income program and an increase in the payment amount. Citing Okcheon County in North Chungcheong Province as an example—where the population rebounded after the county was selected for a Rural Basic Income pilot project—he argued that fiscal priorities should be restructured to address the decline of rural areas and promote balanced national development.

President Lee Jae-myung and First Lady Kim Hye-kyung, who visited Belgium, are greeting well-wishers aboard Air Force One at Melsbroek Air Base in Brussels on June 9, 2026 (local time). Photo by Yonhap News.

On June 10, President Lee shared a news report about the population growth in Okcheon on his X (formerly Twitter) account, stating, "Even with the Rural Basic Income being implemented temporarily for just two years, we have seen this much impact. If we make it permanent and increase the payment amount, the effect will be much greater," adding, "I would also like to hear your opinions." After Okcheon County decided to provide Rural Basic Income, the population increased by 1,192 in December last year alone, and the population, which had fallen below the 50,000 mark in February 2022, recovered to over 50,000 as of January this year. Since then, the population has continued to increase by around 100 each month.

Regarding the issue of funding, President Lee said, "Considering that the current annual budget for county-level governments is usually more than 20 million won per person, it ultimately comes down to willpower and policy decisions—in other words, the matter of budget priorities." He also mentioned, "Due to the recent revitalization of the stock market, the Rural Special Tax, which is required to be spent on rural areas, has surged to several trillion won."

He continued, "If this budget is used not for securing infrastructure such as farm roads and bridges as before, but instead as a source for Rural Basic Income, and if the program is institutionalized as a permanent project with the basic income amount raised from 150,000 won to an even higher level, it will have multiple positive effects."

The Rural Special Tax is a designated tax aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of rural areas. This year, with the stock market rally and an increase in trading volume, related tax revenues have surged, prompting the government to raise its projection for annual Rural Special Tax revenue from the original 8.5 trillion won to 13.6 trillion won. Cumulative Rural Special Tax revenue through April reached 5.7 trillion won, marking a 150% increase compared to the same period last year.

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