South Gyeongsang Province Recommends Sancheong County as Sole Candidate for 2027 Rural and Fishing Communities Basic Income Pilot, Citing Fiscal Constraints

South Gyeongsang Province said on November 4 that it had submitted Sancheong County as its sole nominee to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for next year's pilot basic income program for rural and fishing communities, out of the province's nine counties classified as having declining populations.

At a briefing at the provincial government press center that day, the province announced, "All nine counties in the province except Namhae County, which is already running the pilot program, applied for next year's program. After conducting its own review with the participation of seven outside experts, the province selected Sancheong County as its final recommendation to the ministry."

The province added that Sancheong County ranked first with a total score of 89.1 points, based on assessments of its population decline index; regional development index over the past five years; number of residents living in townships and status of affiliated merchants based in townships; the specificity and appropriateness of its implementation plan; resident acceptance and consensus-building; and expected benefits from links to other projects.

Ryu Haeseok, head of the province's Agricultural Policy Bureau, explained the reason for the recommendation, saying, "We deeply share the program's aim of helping rural and fishing communities achieve stable livelihoods and revitalizing local economies, and we take seriously the interest and willingness to participate shown by each region." He added, "We also had to consider whether the program would lead to sustained vitality in the region and whether the region had the financial capacity to continue it stably."

Ryu Haeseok, director of the South Gyeongsang Province Agriculture Policy Bureau, announces the recommendations for the additional call for applications for the 2027 Rural Basic Income pilot project. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The basic income program for rural and fishing communities is a national pilot project aimed at supporting residents' minimum livelihood security and boosting local consumption to revitalize economies in areas with declining populations. It provides every resident in participating areas with 150,000 won per month in local gift certificates.

Namhae County, which is currently participating in the pilot program, had 41,032 residents at the end of September 2026, up by 1,735 from 39,296 in September 2025, before it was selected for the program. However, its population reportedly began declining again in July 2026. The number of affiliated merchants that opened businesses has also risen by 163 since before the program began, but the recent pace of growth has slowed.

The government is conducting its first two-year pilot from 2026 through 2027 in 17 counties nationwide, including Namhae County. Next year, it plans to raise the share of funding covered by the national government from the current 40% to 50% and expand the program to 18 more areas.

The remaining 50% of program costs must be covered by local governments, with the provincial and county governments each paying 25%.

Namhae County's budget for the basic income program for rural and fishing communities in 2026 is 69 billion won, with the national government contributing 27.6 billion won, South Gyeongsang Province 20.7 billion won and Namhae County 20.7 billion won.

If Sancheong County is selected next year, the 62 billion won cost of its basic income program for rural and fishing communities will be shared as follows: 31 billion won by the national government, 15.5 billion won by South Gyeongsang Province and 15.5 billion won by Sancheong County.

According to South Gyeongsang Province, providing the basic income to all nine counties would cost the province more than 190 billion won. Even if only five of the 10 counties, including Namhae County, were selected, the province estimates it would have to spend 96 billion won.

The province said its financial circumstances make it difficult to support several counties at the same time, as it must also provide for all 18 cities and counties.

Ryu said, "We decided to recommend just one county this time after considering the need for the program, our financial circumstances and its potential impact on support programs for other residents of the province." He added, "It was an unavoidable decision to look after residents across the province with limited financial resources and ensure the program can continue stably."

South Gyeongsang Province emphasized that it would continue to urge the government and the National Assembly to raise the national government's funding share to at least 80%, so that more rural areas can participate in and benefit from the program.

Ryu said, "With the national government currently covering 50% of the costs, the burden on local governments is too high for them to apply for the program." He expressed concern that "under the current system, which does not provide at least 80% in national funding, the program's sustainability will weaken."

He continued, "It is regrettable that we could not recommend every county that applied," and appealed for the national government's funding share to be raised to at least 80% so that a national policy does not place an excessive financial burden on local governments.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs closed applications for the 2027 pilot basic income program for rural and fishing communities on November 3.

The ministry plans to conduct document reviews and presentation evaluations from November 4 through 16, and announce the final selections on November 19.

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