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.
Lee has identified four major crises that South Korea is currently facing. These crises are related to livelihood, war, low birth rates, and democracy. Lee believes that the national crisis brought on by the Yoon Suk-yeol government can only be overcome by winning the upcoming general election. He has urged people to support his cause and to view this election as the last chance to rectify the collapsing state of S. Korea.
Lee expressed his concerns about the current government’s policy towards North Korea and stated that the risk of war should not be increased even by one in ten million. He urged the government to immediately restore the hotline for preventing war and maintaining peace.
He warned that if the government attempts a war game risking the lives of citizens for strategic political gains, it must be stopped immediately and emphasized that such actions would not be forgiven by history. Lee has been claiming that the current government might provoke a conflict with North Korea to use it in the general election.
