Lee Jae-myung, "Choked up over Pandong Elementary's Basic Income Implementation" ... Reconsidering the Necessity of Basic Income

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is responding to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held on the 19th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Nana] An elementary school in Chungbuk is implementing a 'school store currency' system for all students, and Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, recalled his childhood with emotion while reiterating the necessity and effectiveness of the basic income system.

On the morning of the 25th, Governor Lee introduced the case of Pandong Elementary School in Chungbuk, which provides every student with 2,000 won worth of in-school 'school store currency' weekly, allowing them to purchase snacks or school supplies, through his Facebook post.

He added, "It brings back memories of my impoverished childhood, making me emotional," and said, "Although the amount is small, it will be a great help to students facing difficulties due to their family circumstances."

Governor Lee explained the benefits of the basic income system, stating, "The Pandong Elementary case is suggestive," and "Basic income is useful in addressing welfare blind spots and contributes to creating a fair society by providing equal opportunities to everyone."

He further noted, "Its usefulness as an economic policy has already been confirmed through the distribution of disaster relief funds."

He emphasized, "Some criticize the basic income being implemented in Gyeonggi Province as 'excessive,' 'premature experimentation,' or 'handouts,' but as seen in the Pandong Elementary case, it is a meaningful policy that must be implemented."

He continued, "Gyeonggi Province is already implementing youth basic income. In addition, basic income for farmers and rural areas is also being promoted," sharing the province's aspirations and plans for the basic income system.

Earlier, on the 22nd, Pandong Elementary announced the implementation of a basic income system that provides all students with a kind of allowance in the form of school store currency. It was reported that the implementation was made possible after a donor recently contributed 1 million won to the school's social cooperative store.