(Jeonju=Yonhap News) Reporter Im Chae-doo = Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-taek (Gunsan-Kimje-Buan) said on the 19th that "the plan to designate Jeonbuk as a leading regional basic income area for rural and fishing villages should be actively considered."
Announcing his candidacy for the next gubernatorial election last month, he emphasized at a press conference at the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Council that "basic income needs to be verified and modeled at the regional level rather than at the individual city or county level to achieve real results."
Rural and fishing village basic income is a policy where the government provides 150,000 won per person per month in local currency form to residents in areas with declining populations for two years, with seven local governments nationwide, including Sunchang, selected as pilot areas.
The lawmaker explained, "For the designation of a regional unit, it is important to push forward the government's basic plan," and "Jeonbuk, being an agricultural province, is suitable for promoting basic income, so it is the role of local governments to persuade the government first."
He added, "I strongly proposed to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Presidential Office Agriculture Secretary to add five regions to the seven selected by the government," and "I also worked to improve the budget structure by increasing the national budget from 40% to 50% to reduce the burden on local governments."
The lawmaker said, "The budget has also increased by 170.69 billion won and has passed the standing committee of the National Assembly and is scheduled to be presented to the Budget and Accounts Committee," and "I will make every effort with Han Byeong-do, Chairman of the Budget and Accounts Committee, and Jeong Cheong-rae, Party Leader, to ensure that five regions are added."