Lee calls for tailored support for rural migrants under basic income scheme

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that people wishing to relocate from cities to rural areas should receive support tailored to the characteristics of their destination regions under the rural basic income scheme.

Cheong Wa Dae chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung conveyed the remarks following a senior secretaries meeting chaired by the president.

At the closed-door session, Ha Jun-kyung, senior secretary for economic growth, briefed attendees on the characteristics of K-shaped polarization, ways to revitalize the local small-business economy for inclusive growth, and the current state of asset market polarization and possible responses.

Kang said Lee, after receiving the briefing, stressed the need to think more fundamentally about small business owners and consider whether structural change was necessary.

Lee also asked how South Korea's perception of voluntary unemployment compares with attitudes and systems in other countries — where they align and where they differ.

The president also received a briefing from the senior social secretary on building a fair labor market and strengthening the basic social safety net for inclusive growth. He examined in detail how retirement pension schemes operate in workplaces with fewer than 300 employees versus those with 300 or more.

In response to a related question, Kang said Lee posed a question of his own, asking whether broader social discussion was needed on three fronts: retirement pensions as a form of security provided by employers, the portion of pension stability that workers themselves can safeguard, and how to strengthen the expertise behind pension returns. Lee also suggested the discussion should be taken further, Kang added.

Meanwhile, Lee is set to meet former President Moon Jae-in for lunch on July 1.

Asked about the agenda, Kang said she expected the meeting to cover a wide range of topics, including the increasingly complex international situation this year and the challenges ahead related to economic and social transformation.