Free Cash for All Boosts Rising South Korea Star to Top of Polls

  • Local governor Lee Jae-myung calls for universal basic income
  • Lee warns of systemic collapse without more support for demand
Lee Jae-myung poses for a photograph in Suwon on Sept. 29.Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
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Record government spending triggered by the coronavirus in South Korea has helped send a maverick regional governor to the top of polls to be the next president and fueled his push to make the country Asia’s first to introduce universal basic income.

Lee Jae-myung, who has served as governor of South Korea’s most populous province since 2018, warns that without across-the-board income support to address inequality, the stability of the country’s economy could be threatened.