Uljin-gun chief urges government remedy after rural basic income bid falls through

Uljin-gun Chief Hwang Yi-ju urged the central government and North Gyeongsang Province to devise practical remedial measures after the county was shut out of a rural basic income pilot program.

Uljin-gun issued a statement Monday expressing deep regret that its bid to join the 2027 rural basic income pilot program — prepared to address population decline, aging and residents' livelihood stability — had fallen through after North Gyeongsang Province failed to submit a letter of commitment to secure local funding.

Hwang had pursued the program selection through a series of active steps, including meeting with Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Song Mi-ryeong and visiting the National Assembly. On Oct. 31, Hwang personally urged President Lee Jae Myung, who was visiting Cheongsong-gun, to select Uljin-gun for the program.

Despite those efforts, North Gyeongsang Province declined to submit letters of commitment to secure local funding for six counties in the province, including Uljin-gun, citing fiscal constraints — leaving them without even the chance to be evaluated by the government.

Hwang said he understood the province's fiscal difficulties but stressed that financial hardship and being denied the opportunity to compete were separate issues. "Uljin-gun needs a fair chance to have its sustainable basic income policy — one that draws on the county's unique character and fiscal base as home to 10 nuclear power plants — properly evaluated," Hwang said.

Hwang called on North Gyeongsang Province to work with the county to resolve the local funding burden, and asked the central government and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to establish concrete remedial measures that would allow counties excluded from the application process to try again.

"There is a clear difference between not being selected and not being allowed to try at all," Hwang said. "I will visit the government, the National Assembly and North Gyeongsang Province to explore every possible remedy, and I will keep working to realize a basic income policy that genuinely helps our residents."