Opposition party leader proposes ‘Birth Basic Income’ to address S. Korea’s birth rate crisis

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party has proposed providing basic income to every newborn in South Korea as a means to tackle the country’s low birth rate crisis. He has also emphasized that winning the general election is the last chance to save the nation.

Lee proposed a ‘birth basic income’ as a new policy to help combat low birth rates during the New Year’s press conference held on Jan. 31. With the general elections coming up in April, Lee revisited his signature policy of basic income. Previously, the Democratic Party announced a low birth rate strategy that requires an annual budget of 28 trillion won($20.9 billion).

Lee stated, “In addition to this, based on the principle of universal birth support, I propose a birth basic income that includes a method of providing lump-sum support in installments. If necessary, we should create a comprehensive support plan that might even seem excessive, covering all educational expenses, including college tuition.” The Democratic Party expressed that the idea is to eliminate the financial worries and hesitation that couples face when deciding to have children.

Lee stressed the importance of moving beyond a welfare state towards a society that guarantees a basic standard of living for all. This involves increasing the use of renewable energy and investing in the AI sector. According to him, the key to a promising future lies in energy, science, and technology. Therefore, he emphasized the necessity to accelerate and lead this change by increasing the investment in research and development (R&D) more than ever before.