The population of Boeun County in North Chungcheong Province has risen for a fourth straight month under a pilot basic income program for farming and fishing villages, launched to counter the decline of rural areas.
As of the 23rd of this month, the county's population stood at 31,583, up 888 from 30,695 when it was selected as a pilot area in June, the county said on the 27th. Arrivals from outside the county totaled 1,721 over that period, driving the increase. Merchants accepting the Gyeolchobo-eun Card, the local currency used to pay out the basic income, grew by 151, or 10.2%, to 1,636 from 1,485 over the same period.
A county official said arrivals have averaged 15 people a day since Boeun was chosen as a pilot area, adding that new arrivals receive the basic income after a three-month check confirming they actually live there.
Since August, Boeun has paid every resident 160,000 won a month, combining the 150,000 won set by the central government with 10,000 won from a fund for countering regional decline. In the first month, residents received 320,000 won, including a retroactive payment for July. The county has paid out a total of 12 billion won over three months.
The pilot program gives residents of designated shrinking regions local gift certificates worth 150,000 won per person each month, aiming to supplement incomes and spur local spending and community activity. It began in February in 10 counties, and seven more were added in June, bringing the current total to 17.
Card Sales Up 29% in Pilot Areas, With More Young Residents
Credit card sales in the pilot areas have risen about 29% from a year earlier and the number of young residents has increased, according to data analyzed by Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee. Based on monthly economic indicators from the National Tax Service, credit card sales in the 10 counties that began payments in February came to 658.9 billion won in the second quarter, up 28.8% from 511.4 billion won a year earlier. That was 18.9 percentage points higher than the 9.9% increase recorded by 55 shrinking counties that were not making the payments over the same period.
The pilot areas also showed population gains. An analysis by Yong's office of resident registration figures from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety found the combined population of the 10 pilot counties was 334,957 as of August, up 5.0% from 318,933 a year earlier. Young residents aged 19 to 34 rose by 3,533, or 10.2%, to 38,083 from 34,550 — more than double the overall growth rate. By comparison, the combined population of 48 other shrinking counties fell 0.8% over the same period, with young residents down 2.8%.
Some Register Addresses Without Moving In
While the program is credited with proven effects on spending and population inflows, ineligible applications have continued. Data submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to Rep. Yun Jun-byung of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, showed that on-site residency checks in the 10 pilot counties turned up 10,224 ineligible cases as of the end of August.
The largest category was 4,098 cases, or 40.1%, in which applicants moved their address out of the county before payments were made. Next were 2,448 cases, or 23.9%, of failing to meet the residency requirement, in which people had registered on paper without actually living there. Deaths accounted for 1,682 cases, or 16.5%, and other reasons — including hospitalization outside the county, military enlistment, living in a non-residential building and withdrawn applications — came to 1,996 cases, or 19.5%.
Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong Province had the most suspected false registrations, with 905 residency violations out of 1,933 ineligible cases. By total ineligible cases, Cheongyang County led with 1,933, followed by Yeoncheon County in Gyeonggi Province with 1,810, Shinan County with 1,202 and Jeongseon County with 1,097. Attempts to claim the money without qualifying were detected across all 10 counties.
In 33 cases, improper payments went undetected in advance checks and were later clawed back after the money had been paid, totaling 5.1 million won. Most involved violations of the residency requirement. Gokseong County in South Jeolla Province had the most with 18 cases, followed by Okcheon County in North Chungcheong Province, Jangsu County in Jeonbuk State and Cheongyang County in South Chungcheong Province.
Yun said the program has proven itself a policy capable of countering regional decline, with registered populations up 5% and local-currency merchants up 15.4% in seven months. He stressed that such clear results and the original intent of the system should not be tarnished by ineligible applications or attempts at improper payments by a minority.