(Nationwide General News = Yonhap News) Rural local governments facing extinction are pinning their hopes on the rural basic income pilot program scheduled to begin next year.
The rural basic income pilot program aims to stabilize the lives of rural residents facing crisis due to aging and population decline, and to promote regional economic circulation, by providing residents in the pilot areas with 150,000 won in regional love vouchers every month for two years.
The government has selected seven counties as pilot areas: Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province, Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province, Cheongyang County in Chungnam Province, Sunchang County in Jeollabuk Province, Sinan County in Jeollanam Province, Yeongyang County in Gyeongbuk Province, and Namhae County in Gyeongnam Province.
The selected local governments are increasingly hopeful as the inflow of new residents is rising.
However, the financial burden issue is being debated due to the low fiscal independence of the respective regions.
Additionally, there are growing calls for additional designation from the excluded local governments.
Controversies surrounding the program, such as "populism" and "social safety net," continue unabated.
◇ Expecting effects such as population increase... Promoting residential policies
The seven local governments selected for the pilot program have begun preparations for the program by activating their cooperative systems.
Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province plans to build a circular economic model utilizing self-reliant funds beyond simple cash payments.
The county plans to use the dividends it receives annually from its shares in Gangwon Land as a major source of funds.
Effects such as population increase are being observed in the pilot areas.
In Gyeongnam Namhae County, the number of new residents increased by 272 in September, but in October, when it was confirmed as a pilot area, the number of new residents increased dramatically to 629.
This is in contrast to the previous trend of population decline, with an average of 20 to 130 fewer people per month from January to August this year.
The population of Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province was 41,270 in September, but increased by 320 to 41,347 in October after the announcement of the program.
However, there are concerns about temporary inflation effects or disguised inflow aimed at obtaining the basic income.
Accordingly, there are plans to focus on promoting residential policies that include housing, medical care, and education linked to the basic income.
An official from Namhae County said on the 23rd, "The recent population increase is the expectation psychology about the introduction of rural basic income in adjacent cities..."