"Mokpo Should Lead the Way in Urban Solar Income Villages"
Former Director Kang Sung-hwi met Professor Lee Soon-hyung to discuss the Mokpo-type Energy Basic Income and sought regional development alternatives. Photo by Kang Sung-hwi SNS
Kang Sung-hwi, former Director of the Jeonnam Social Service Institute, is drawing attention after officially proposing the “Mokpo-type Energy Basic Income Model” in line with the government’s expanding solar pension policy.
On December 16, Kang announced on his Facebook page the launch of a new section called “Kang Sung-hwi’s Mokpo Vision,” stating his intention to present a vision for the region.
Kang emphasized, “President Lee Jaemyung has stated there is ‘no reason not to do it’ regarding the village community solar power plant policy, which is now a necessity rather than a choice,” adding, “Now is the perfect time for Mokpo to lead the way with an urban energy basic income model.”
The government aims to establish more than 500 solar income villages every year starting next year, with a total of over 2,500 nationwide by 2030, and plans to invest 550 billion won in national funds next year alone. Kang stressed, “Given this national policy direction, strategic responses from local governments are more important than ever.”
He cited the case of Sinan County in Jeonnam Province as a representative success model. Over the past four years, Sinan County has returned a total of 22 billion won to residents through the “solar pension,” proving that renewable energy can be directly linked to resident income.
However, Kang pointed out, “There are limitations to applying the Sinan County model directly to urban areas.” Citing the analysis of Lee Soon-hyung, Professor of Electrical Engineering at Dongshin University and designer of the Lee Jaemyung administration’s “Energy Expressway” initiative, he explained, “While the Sinan model-based on large corporate investment and resident profit-sharing-is suitable for rural areas, a more realistic approach for Mokpo, with its high population density, is a city-type model where public and private sectors co-invest, and residents directly operate and distribute profits.”
Kang particularly highlighted “village enterprises and energy storage systems (ESS)” as key elements. He stated, “Solar power generation alone cannot create a sustainable income structure,” and stressed, “A distributed energy system, where generation, storage, operation, and distribution function as an integrated system, must be established.”
He continued, “Mokpo has the optimal conditions for demonstrating distributed energy,” and asserted, “We must create a standard through the Mokpo-type energy basic income model that can be expanded nationwide.” He added, “Professor Lee Soon-hyung also advised that we should develop a ‘Kang Sung-hwi-style solar income village model,’” making clear his commitment to implementation.
As government policies aimed at achieving both energy transition and local income generation are gaining momentum, there is growing interest in whether Kang Sung-hwi’s “Mokpo-type Energy Basic Income” initiative will be realized as an actual policy and project.
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