Kang Ki-jung "Introduction of Gwangju-type 3 Major Public Interest Value Allowances"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Kang Ki-jung, the Democratic Party of Korea's preliminary candidate for mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, announced on the 11th, "I will introduce the Gwangju-type 3 Major Public Value Allowances that make my life happy."

Kang emphasized, "The Gwangju-type 3 Allowances are human rights and democracy policies aimed at creating a Gwangju where 'the quality of my life' changes. We intend to recognize the value of household labor as sacrifice and consideration for families, and to reward the efforts of citizens who participated in realizing the public and social values of agriculture that supplies safe food despite the urban-rural gap."

The Gwangju-type 3 Major Public Value Allowances consist of the Household Allowance, Farmer Allowance, and Participation Allowance.

Kang plans to introduce the 'Household Allowance,' which is the first in the nation to restore the social value of household labor.

The Household Allowance pilot project will target non-economically active people in their 40s.

It is expected that by providing it in the form of a welfare card-type local currency, a virtuous cycle structure will be created to revitalize neighborhood markets and the local economy.

After conducting the pilot project for one year, its effectiveness will be evaluated and then gradually expanded.

Additionally, Kang will promote the Farmer Allowance for farmers within Gwangju, a mixed urban-rural city, recognizing the public function of agriculture according to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants.

The Farmer Allowance is currently implemented in 11 special and metropolitan cities and provinces, including Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Chungnam, Chungbuk, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, Jeju, as well as Ulsan and Incheon, but it has not yet been implemented in Gwangju.

The Farmer Allowance will be provided as local currency in line with the national trend of local government support, targeting farmers within the jurisdiction.

Furthermore, Kang will introduce the Participation Allowance to support citizens' activities that realize social value.

Although many meaningful citizens have participated in numerous projects in the public sector, limitations due to insufficient standards and systems have prevented support. Kang plans to overcome these limitations and support citizen participation in various fields such as public safety, environment, disaster relief, vulnerable child services, care, environment, and education, aiming to create 10,000 new citizen participation jobs.

Kang said, "The change that citizens feel, '20 things that Gwangju does not have,' will now be confidently and quickly realized. I will transform Gwangju into a 'model city of life' where being born in Gwangju, not Seoul, means gaining more."