From the South of the City to the Blue House: Lee Jae-myung's Decade-long Money Distribution Experiment

Author: Wang Chao

The new president of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung, carries many labels: the soda mayor, a 20-day hunger strike, an idol, and live-streaming his way into the National Assembly. Beyond these widely recognized labels, a closer look at his political career over the past decade reveals another important label: a promoter of cash distribution. From distributing funds in Seongnam City to Gyeonggi Province, from young people at the age of 24 to farmers and artists, and now aiming to distribute to all citizens.

Lee Jae-myung spent ten years turning what seemed like a crazy idea into reality step by step. The question he wants to answer is very simple: In the age of AI, does everyone have the right to share social wealth unconditionally?

Basic income is a cash income distributed periodically to all individuals, without the need for economic status investigations or work requirements. It is commonly referred to as universal basic income or unconditional basic income, abbreviated as UBI.

UBI may seem advanced, but it is actually a concept that has been discussed for centuries. As early as the 16th century, Thomas More proposed a similar idea in Utopia. In the 60s of the 20th century, Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman proposed the theory of "negative income tax", and Martin Luther King Jr. called for the establishment of a "guaranteed income" system in his last book. In the '70s, the Nixon administration even came close to passing a UBI-like family assistance program. In the 21st century, with the development of artificial intelligence, more and more people from Silicon Valley tech elites to Nobel laureates in economics have begun to seriously discuss the possibility of UBI. Dozens of countries have launched UBI pilot experiments to explore the practical feasibility of this concept.

In South Korea, Lee Jae-myung is the most active advocate and practitioner of UBI.

In January 2016, Lee Jae-myung, then the mayor of Seongnam, did a "crazy" thing - giving money to all 24-year-olds. 1,000,000 won per person, no strings attached, only need to spend locally. The policy, which was criticized by the Park Geun-hye administration as "populist," was unexpectedly successful. Young people received tangible cash support, local businesses benefited from increased consumption, and Lee Jae-myung received broad political support. This bold experiment became an important step for him to step into a higher political arena.

After being elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018, the district's population swelled from 900,000 to 13 million, a quarter of South Korea's total population, and he quickly expanded the original youth basic income plan, which was limited to Seongnam City, to all 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province. In 2022, he launched a more radical experiment in rural areas: a village was selected by lottery, and all 3,880 residents of the village would receive an unconditional monthly allowance of 150,000 won for five years. The purpose of this experiment is to study the impact of basic income on health, local economies, employment, and inequality in distribution.

In the 2022 presidential election, Lee Jae-myung even proposed a complete and progressive UBI plan. The core of the plan is to provide financial support to all Korean nationals, with an initial amount of 250,000 won per person per year, and plans to gradually increase it to 1 million won during the term of office. The total annual expenditure of these basic income programs is about 58 trillion won, and Mr. Lee's plan to finance mainly through land value-added tax and carbon tax has come under strong criticism from rival Yoon Suk-yeol. During the Moon Jae-in administration, the large increase in the rate of imported and comprehensive property taxes has also sparked strong public resistance to any increase in real estate-related taxes. Although Lee Jae-myung's proposed land value-added tax only taxes the value of land, Lee Jae-myung failed to get the public to understand the difference. Polls show that a majority of people disagree with his view that "the land dividend scheme will make the majority of the population a net beneficiary". Against this backdrop, Lee Jae-myung had to back down, saying that if the majority of the people did not agree, he would not implement universal basic income and land appreciation tax, but he still insisted on providing basic income for at least certain groups, such as youth and farmers.

In the end, Lee Jae-myung lost the election in 2022 by a narrow margin of 0.7%, which may be the political price he paid for his UBI vision.

Having learned from the last lesson, Lee Jae-myung made a significant shift in his stance and statements on the UBI issue during the 2025 presidential campaign. He had deliberately avoided the UBI topic for a long time, instead emphasizing pro-business policies, research and development investments, and the development of artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, UBI remains an important part of his progressive reform attempts and is deeply imprinted in his political image.

On May 22, just 11 days before the voting day, perhaps the accumulated advantages were too obvious, causing him to no longer fear the controversies that UBI might trigger. He once again unveiled a grand vision called "Basic Society," and the "UBI Uncle" is back.

The "Basic Society" is not an entirely new specific UBI plan, but rather a relatively moderate one that embodies strong UBI elements, aiming to cover a complete income support system from birth to old age. The name has changed, but the core concept remains the same. Lee Jae-myung believes that in an era dominated by AI and robots, the traditional assumption that "everyone can work continuously" is outdated. The benefits of technology should not be monopolized by a few but should be shared by all.

To understand Lee Jae-myung's UBI vision, it is necessary to explore the deep philosophical thinking and insight of the times behind it. He sees it as a central solution to social polarization, the impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, shrinking consumption, and the protection of national economic rights. He believes that modern capitalism is facing a structural crisis, especially in the context of technological innovation, and "jobless growth" and the gap between rich and poor will increase. UBI stimulates consumption by increasing people's income, forming a virtuous circle of economy, which has the dual characteristics of welfare and economic stimulus.

In addition, Lee Jae-myung emphasized that UBI aims to ensure that citizens enjoy the "basic economic rights" necessary for a decent life. He believes that when labor is no longer the only means of survival, the benefits of technological advancement should be shared by all. UBI can redefine labor, helping people escape "painful labor" and pursue "happy labor" and self-realization.

The extensive discussion and real challenges of UBI in South Korea

In South Korea, Lee Jae-myung is not the only political figure supporting UBI. The concept of UBI has a broad grassroots foundation in South Korean society, even giving rise to a political organization called the "Basic Income Party." This party was established in 2020, primarily developing its membership through the internet, with the slogan "600,000 won per month for everyone," and they actually won a seat in the National Assembly in the subsequent elections.

At the same time, other forms of income support experiments are also underway. In July 2022, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon launched a three-year "Safe Income" randomized double-blind experiment in his jurisdiction, which is a household-based negative income tax program. Negative income tax is often seen as an important variant of UBI, with the core mechanism being: when income exceeds a certain tax threshold, taxes need to be paid; if it does not exceed, not only is there no tax liability, but a subsidy can also be received. Surprisingly, Lee Jae-myung's political rival, the People Power Party, has also incorporated the concept of basic income into its party platform, clearly stating: "The state should support every citizen to live a safe and free life through basic income, in order to cope with the impending era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

These all indicate that UBI has transitioned from a marginal concept to a mainstream idea in South Korea. Nevertheless, the widespread implementation of UBI in South Korea and globally still faces significant challenges, such as fiscal sustainability, achieving social consensus, and political and administrative coordination capabilities. The future of Lee Jae-myung's "basic society" will depend not only on the superiority of the concept but also on whether various real-world issues can be properly addressed. Regardless of what the future holds, Lee Jae-myung's relentless exploration of UBI has already provided valuable experience for the innovation of social policies in South Korea and even globally.

In an era where material production is extremely abundant and technology can replace human labor, what is the ultimate measure of social progress? When machines take over the production line, Lee Jae-myung's exploration questions us: Can humanity transcend passive adaptation and actively shape a future society that is its own, with dignity and value?

This may be the most profound political legacy he can leave behind - not a definitive answer, but an eternal question of how humanity can maintain dignity and value amid the tide of technology.