Ruling party moves to push basic income in earnest, aims to pass framework act in first half of year

Financial News – To lay the groundwork for its “basic society” agenda, which includes basic income and is being driven by President Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to enact the Basic Society Framework Act. Some within the party argue that the bill should clear the National Assembly in the first half of this year.
Kim Woo-young, a Democratic Party lawmaker known as a close aide to President Lee, said in congratulatory remarks at a party-hosted forum on the 4th titled “Forum on Realizing a Basic Society and Enacting the Basic Society Framework Act,” that, “We must draft the framework act within the first half of this year and pass it quickly.” He added, “We should not wait until we have a perfect bill; we need to pass it first and then supplement it afterward.”
The concept of a basic society is a policy vision that President Lee has advocated since his time as Mayor of Seongnam. It centers on basic income and encompasses universal welfare measures aimed at guaranteeing fundamental rights. Recently, President Lee ordered that basic society be discussed in earnest, and the previous day Democratic Party parliamentary leader Han Byung-do proposed legislation on basic society in his speech as representative of the negotiation bloc.
Concrete steps are also underway. On the 20th, the Presidential Committee for Basic Society, chaired directly by President Lee, is scheduled to be launched. In addition, Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Jung-hoon, who chairs the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, has already introduced a framework bill. Once conditions are in place, the government and ruling party are expected to begin policy consultations.
Lee Han-joo, special presidential adviser for policy and known as President Lee’s policy mentor, also attended the forum. He said, “When we designed the overall policy agenda of the Lee Jae-myung administration, we built it around two major pillars: genuine growth and a basic society,” adding, “The values the Democratic Party should pursue are growth and the realization of a basic society. We will work to make that a reality through President Lee.”
uknow@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Yoon-ho Reporter