Yeoncheon County Applies for Rural Basic Income Pilot Project Contest... Aiming to Build a Sustainable Rural Economic System

Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province announced on October 15 that it has submitted an application to participate in the 2026 Rural Basic Income Pilot Project contest, which is being promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

Yeoncheon County Rural Basic Income Pilot Project Contest Launch Ceremony. Photo by Yeoncheon County

This contest is a national-level experimental project aimed at addressing population decline and regional imbalance in rural areas. The goal is to establish a sustainable community model by providing a fixed amount of basic income to rural residents.

Based on its experience in leading the Gyeonggi Province Rural Basic Income Pilot Project (Cheongsan-myeon) since 2022, Yeoncheon County aims to verify the feasibility of institutionalizing basic income at the local level by participating in this national pilot project contest.

Yeoncheon County has been providing all residents of Cheongsan-myeon with 150,000 won per month in local currency (Yeoncheon Love Gift Certificates), achieving visible results such as an approximately 12% increase in small business sales and about a 1.8-fold increase in community activities.

The specific experimental objectives of this pilot project include: supporting young farmers’ settlement, expanding local food consumption, establishing a circular economy within village communities, and revitalizing the rural economy.

In particular, the county aims to present a model that strengthens the “basic income + local economic circulation” structure, with the goal of building a sustainable rural economic system to counter the decline of rural communities.

Kim Deokhyeon, Mayor of Yeoncheon County, stated, “Yeoncheon County was the first region to experiment with rural basic income policy, and we have directly observed changes in residents’ lives and the local economy. Through this national pilot project, we will do our best to ensure that Yeoncheon’s experience can be expanded to rural areas across the country.”