44 Regions Compete for Rural Basic Income Pilot Program: What You Need to Know

On the 10th, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that 44 counties submitted applications in an additional call for proposals to expand the rural basic income pilot program.

In the Chungcheong region, eight counties applied: Buyeo, Seocheon, Geumsan and Yesan in South Chungcheong (Chungnam); and Goesan, Boeun, Yeongdong and Danyang in North Chungcheong (Chungbuk).

The rural basic income pilot, which currently involves 10 counties, is designed to address national problems such as rural depopulation and widening regional disparities and to promote balanced development by targeting rural areas at high risk of disappearance.

To strengthen support for vulnerable areas affected by the Middle East conflict, the ministry secured a supplementary budget in April totaling KRW 70.6 billion (about $53.0 million) and launched a selection process to add roughly five more counties.

Under the Local Decentralization and Balanced Development Act, the ministry accepted applications from 59 depopulation-designated counties (excluding the 10 counties already participating in the pilot). Forty-four counties applied, producing a competition ratio of 8.8 to 1.

By region, applicants included 11 in Jeonnam (South Jeolla), 8 in Gangwon, 6 in Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang), 5 each in Jeonbuk (North Jeolla) and Gyeongbuk (North Gyeongsang), 4 each in Chungbuk and Chungnam, and 1 in Gyeonggi.

The ministry formed an evaluation committee composed mainly of private experts in rural policy, basic income, balanced development and local finance. Following fair document and presentation reviews, the committee will select and announce about five additional counties. The evaluation and selection schedule has been postponed to June.

Kang Dong-yoon, director of the Rural Income and Energy Policy Office, said, \"Interest and expectations for the rural basic income pilot are high, so we will carry out the additional selection process fairly and without delay. After selections are finalized, we will actively support the pilot projects so they can take root quickly in the chosen areas and yield tangible results.\"