South Korea Mulls Universal Basic Income Post-COVID

While the basic income movement is not new in South Korea, the pandemic has added considerable momentum to it.

The concept of universal basic income is simple: provide a set amount of «basic income» for survival to every citizen regularly with no strings attached.

While the basic income movement is not new in South Korea, the pandemic seems to have added considerable momentum behind it.

«The Next Big Thing»: Interest in UBI Across the Political Spectrum

South Korea’s political landscape has recently become more polarized, sharply divided on all issues along party lines. However, on UBI, there seems to be a shared interest across the political spectrum or at least an acknowledgment that it is poised to be one of the most critical public policy topics for the next few election cycles, including the presidential election in 2022, that they must seize.


Local Experiments and a UBI Champion

Finally, it will be important to follow local experiments on the basic income front. In particular, Gyeonggi province, the country’s most populous, has taken concrete steps to introduce basic income at the local level under the support of its governor, Lee Jae-myung.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the actual introduction of the basic income at the national level will be a long-term project.

This article was written by Dongwoo Kim 

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