'2021 Korea Basic Income Expo' Concludes with Over 600,000 Participants

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] The '2021 Korea Basic Income Expo,' held under the theme 'Make People Human, Basic Income,' concluded on the 30th after a four-day long journey.

The expo, conducted online and offline while adhering to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, recorded a total of over 600,000 participants when combining offline exhibition halls, the international conference, online exhibition hall attendance, and website visitors.

The first Basic Income Expo held offline in 2019 attracted approximately 30,000 visitors, and last year it was held online due to the COVID-19 situation with 500,000 participants. This year, with a combined total of 600,000 participants online and offline—an increase of 100,000 from the previous year—the expo demonstrated the public's passionate interest in basic income.

Gyeonggi Province evaluated that, compared to the first expo when basic income was an unfamiliar concept, this third Basic Income Expo is meaningful in that it has formed a consensus that basic income can be a solution for economic recovery and addressing income inequality at a time when the world is facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province also emphasized this point in his opening remarks on the 28th, stating, "While the world is experiencing sustained low economic growth due to insufficient demand, basic income ensures economic recovery and continued growth through income support to expand demand."

The opening ceremony also held the founding general assembly of the Basic Income Local Government Council, with 53 local governments in attendance among 75 member local governments including Gyeonggi Province.

Lee Seon-ho, governor of Ulju County, Ulsan Metropolitan City, was elected as the inaugural council chairman, signaling the beginning of full-scale efforts for public discourse and institutionalization of basic income at the local government level, and its nationalization.

The 'International Conference' held from the afternoon of the 28th through the 29th, centered on the theme 'From COVID-19 Disaster to a New Great Transformation, Basic Income!', was livestreamed in real-time on the official website (basicincomefair.gg.go.kr) and YouTube channel.

Sarath Davala, chairman of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), and Joseph E. Stiglitz, a professor at Columbia University and the 2001 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, along with 68 other basic income activists and experts participated as speakers, engaging in heated policy discussions on basic income and local currency policies.

The online exhibition hall was configured in the form of a 3D virtual exhibition space, allowing visitors to directly tour the exhibition halls set up in the virtual space and view various exhibition materials prepared in the form of videos, panels, cartoons, and reference materials.

Kim Jae-yong, senior policy adviser of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The Basic Income Expo is receiving greater attention with each passing year," and added, "We will make efforts to ensure that various policies and models related to basic income that emerged from the international conference can be spread."

Gyeonggi Province says that requests for sharing content and materials related to the Basic Income Expo have been coming in, and in order to help the public more easily understand and access basic income, the expo website and online exhibition hall will continue to operate until the end of the year.