Compass Money: Lee Jae-myung Tops SK Presidential Polls, Proposes Universal Basic Income

Lee Jae-myung has supported progressive economics during his presidential campaign and governance of Gyeonggi. (Wikimedia Commons)

During an Oct. 10 speech celebrating his nomination by the Democratic Party of Korea, presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung promised to implement a Universal Basic Income (UBI) program if elected. Lee is currently the governor of the country’s most populous Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds its capital of Seoul. During his tenure, he has advanced redistributional policies including universal COVID-19 aid worth 100,000 won ($91) to every resident of Gyeonggi. 

Lee stands firmly on the left wing of the liberal-leaning Democratic Party. His populist approach helped him to clinch victory in the Democratic Party’s primary elections, which concluded on October 10. Despite sharing party membership with South Korean President Moon Jae-In, Lee often criticized Moon’s economic policies. He regarded them as excessively centrist and unable to address South Korea’s substantial wealth inequality, which is the second highest among OECD states. 

Lee has substantial support from the Korean electorate. He has led recent presidential polls, ahead of competitors from the right-wing People Power Party (PPP), center-right People Party, and social-democratic Justice Party. A recent Gallup Korea poll found 33 percent support for Lee, which surpasses the 30 percent for his nearest rival Hong Joon-pyo of the PPP. This is especially important because South Korea’s electoral system is one round and first-past-the-post, meaning that whoever obtains a plurality of the vote will secure the office of president. 

One reason for Lee’s support is a pessimistic outlook on the economy among Korean voters. This is not without reason—2020 saw the first contraction of the country’s economy in decades. While the economy bounced back in 2021, quarter-on-quarter GDP growth slowed from 6.0 percent in the second quarter to 4.2 percent. Besides concerns about an economic slowdown, perceptions that the economy is rigged in favor of the wealthy, expressed in popular media such as the Oscar-winning Parasite and Netflix Hit Squid Game, help push voters’ sentiment to the left. In one public opinion poll, a plurality said that they no longer believe in the possibility of getting ahead in life through pure hard work. 

Aware of these sentiments, Lee’s campaign proposal of UBI is a big part of his appeal, especially to young people. Korean youth have been hit hard by financial troubles, with under-30 unemployment more than double the national average. Housing prices have doubled in Greater Seoul throughout the past five years compared to a tepid 20 percent increase in wages. While UBI experiments are underway all over the world, recent data from one trial shows that a UBI might alleviate some of Korea’s woes. A test in Finland showed that a UBI raised employment rates and improved housing access. Moreover, it substantially raised happiness levels, of which Korea has one of the lowest in the OECD. 

Whether Lee Jae-myung’s support for Universal Basic Income is enough to grant him victory at the ballot box will remain an open question until March 9, 2022—South Korea’s election day.