'Basic Income in My Life'...'2021 Korea Basic Income Expo' Opens on the 28th

[Suwon Ilbo=Park Noh-hoon Reporter] The '2021 Korea Basic Income Expo,' the world's largest forum for basic income public discussion, will be held from April 28th to 30th at Goyang Kinex Hall 1, with both on-site events and online events (basicincomefair.gg.go.kr) running in parallel.

This year's expo, the third held since its first inception in 2019, will be conducted on the largest scale ever, with the theme 'Basic Income in My Life,' and featuring 68 renowned scholars from around the world participating online.

Jung Sung-ho, a National Assembly member and Advisory Committee Chair of the 2021 Korea Basic Income Expo Organizing Committee, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 14th and stated, "In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the global COVID-19 pandemic, amid employment cliffs and low growth, basic income is attracting attention from Korea and the world as a new policy alternative," adding "Now is the time to actively bring basic income into public discussion and prepare for full-scale implementation."

Advisory Committee Member National Assembly Member Kim Seung-won explained 'Economic Rights in the Pandemic Era,' and National Assembly Member Lee Kyu-min discussed 'Food Security and Basic Income for Rural Farmers and Agricultural Workers,' respectively, urging broad interest and participation, saying "This expo will serve as a forum for public discussion on basic income, my life, and economic rights."

Regarding the expo promotion plan, Yong Hye-in, National Assembly Member and Organizing Committee Spokesperson, explained, "As the 2021 Korea Basic Income Expo marks its third edition, with basic income emerging as a global agenda, speakers of record-breaking scale will participate, featuring policy discussions across various fields including economic rights, historical perspectives on basic income, and basic income from a religious perspective."

At the opening ceremony on the 28th, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung will deliver the opening remarks, followed by Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics laureate and professor of economics at MIT in the United States, who will deliver a keynote address on the theme 'The Expansion of Basic Income in the Era of the Coronavirus Pandemic.'

Subsequently, the 'Basic Income Local Government Council' founding general assembly, in which about 50 local governments including Gyeonggi Province will participate, will be held to establish bylaws and elect leadership.

The Basic Income International Conference will be held over two days on the 28th and 29th under the theme 'From the Great Corona Disaster to a New Great Transformation: Basic Income,' with 68 domestic and international scholars and experts engaging in heated policy discussions.

On the first day, the 28th, Sarath Davala, Chair of the Basic Income Earth Network, will deliver a special address on the theme 'Experiences and Prospects of the Global Basic Income Movement,' and on the second day, the 29th, Joseph Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics laureate and professor at Columbia University, will address the theme 'The Necessity of Basic Income as Universal Fiscal Expenditure and Social Transformation under the COVID-19 Pandemic,' and Cho Han-hae-jung, Professor Emeritus at Yonsei University's Department of Cultural Anthropology, will deliver a special address on the theme 'Basic Income and Social Motherhood/Spirituality.'

Meanwhile, the online exhibition hall, which opened on the 1st, operates various exhibition halls and event zones themed on basic income including ▲Basic Income Themed Hall ▲Basic Income Domestic Hall ▲Basic Income Global Hall ▲Local Government Council Hall ▲Youth Basic Income Hall ▲Rural Farmer Basic Income Hall ▲Local Currency Hall ▲Basic Housing Hall ▲Basic Finance Hall ▲Delivery Express Hall ▲Basic Income Video Hall ▲Idea Competition Works Hall.

Spokesperson Yong Hye-in said, "Basic income is no longer a distant future," urging "Please join us at this global policy festival where we discuss 'basic income' and 'economic rights' that are part of our lives."