South Korea: establishment of a universal income in the Gyeonggi region
Audio 02:34
A general view of Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
© Kèoprasith Souvannavong / RFI
By: Nicolas Rocca Follow
6 min
South Korea is one of the most robotic countries in the world.
By 2024, 15% of jobs should be automated.
So, to face this problem and open the debate on the issue, the Gyeonggi region has set up a unique universal income experiment.
Report in Suwon.
Publicity
“
Hello, I'm 24 years old, my name is Kim Ji Young.
I live in Gyeonggi province.
Like 200,000 young people his age in the region, Ji Yong has a universal income of around € 190 per quarter, issued through a provincial credit card.
She can only spend this money in local businesses: “
I have a job, so for me, it's mostly to buy things to eat in this small market.
For my friends looking for a job or students, it's something else.
It allows them to have a social life, to meet people outside.
Personally, it mainly changed my way of consuming.
I used to go to big brands, now I only look for local cafes on social media.
"
A few meters away we find one, a small local cafe.
It is run by a smiling lady in her sixties.
His establishment is on the list of beneficiaries of the program: “
The system is very good because it is centered on the local economy.
But for the financing, it is a little vague.
In any case, as far as I'm concerned, I'm quite satisfied.
Would you like it to be extended to the whole country?
No I don't prefer.
"
The fear of this lady is that which many Koreans express in the face of the idea of Lee Jae-Myung.
The governor of the province is among the favorites for the next presidential election in spring 2022: “
People are afraid of the idea, because it is radical and revolutionary.
We start with a small group in a limited area, but if we prove that it is an effective economic policy, then it will be much easier to extend it to the whole country.
"
To hear him, there is no alternative to universal income: “
Without universal income, the capitalist market will no longer be able to function.
With the fourth industrial revolution, we are faced with too much supply and too little demand to absorb it.
To solve this problem, it is necessary to recover a certain percentage of the excessive profit of the conglomerates and to redistribute it to increase the incomes, and thus the consumption.
The idea is more taxes for more universal income.
"
Lee Jae-Myung raised the possibility of paying € 370 per month to all South Koreans if he came to power.
Or a budget of 220 billion euros that it would finance through ecological taxes, on robots and on real estate.
According to a survey published last June, nearly half of South Koreans would favor the distribution of a basic income.
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