The universal basic income system began to emerge as a social alternative to reducing the polarization of wealth as the number of jobs was reduced following the advent of the 4th industrial revolution. A universal basic income system means an income support system in which minimum living expenses are regularly paid to the entire nation regardless of property, income, employment status, or employment status. The universal basic income system has long been discussed through social experiments and research abroad in Europe and America. However, due to the recent economic downturn caused by COVID-19, discussions on the introduction of the universal basic income system are spreading around the world. While Korea has not yet introduced the universal basic income system, let's find out more about the universal basic income system through overseas examples that attempted to introduce the universal basic income system.

       Finland conducted a pilot project of universal basic income in January 2017. Finland randomly selected 2,000 unemployed people aged between 25 and 58 and gave them 560 euros (about 730,000 won) every month for two years. The goal of the experiment was to reduce unemployment along with increasing jobs. If the results of the experiment were good, the official implementation of the universal basic income-based business was also considered. However, the Finnish government refused to expand the budget required by The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA) to enlarge the system, so the experiment stopped in April 2018. In February 2019, the results of the experiment were announced in a final report by the Finnish government, which said that there was a positive effect of increasing happiness through universal basic income, but the effect of promoting employment was insignificant. The reason why the effect of promoting employment was insignificant was that the employment and financial incentives of unemployed people could not be correlated. KELA compared and analyzed the employment effects of universal basic income recipients and non-commercial workers (unemployed people receiving unemployment benefits). In 2017, the first year of the experiment, 18% of the universal basic income recipient group and the non-recipient group participated in labor activities, respectively. In 2018, the second year of the experiment, 27% of universal basic income recipients were employed, which was only 2% points higher than non-paid people. In other words, universal basic income had little effect.

       The Canadian province of Ontario conducted a universal basic income test in July 2017. They chose 4,000 people randomly to provide universal basic income. Single people living in Hamilton, Lindsay, and Thunder Bay with an annual income of less than $34,000 (about 30 million won) or couples earning less than $48,000 (about 40 million won) were tested. It paid up to $16,989 (about 15 million won) to unmarried people and $24,027 (about 22 million won) to couples. For disabled people, $6,000 (about 5 million won) was added. It is the world's largest universal basic income system based on payments. The Ontario government's original plan was to pay universal basic income for three years to find out the practical effects on employment, health, and re-education but ended the project only a year after its implementation. The experiment was suspended because it did not work well compared to the costs required; moreover the universal basic income did not solve the fundamental poverty of low-income people. According to the BBC on August 6th, 2018, Ontario's Children's and Social Services Minister Lisa McLeod said, "It costs too much money to pilot universal basic income projects," adding, "It is not the answer for the welfare of residents."

        The state of Alaska in the U.S. also has a universal basic income system under the name of ‘Permanent Fund Dividend’. Alaska's universal basic income system is the only model that meets the "essential criteria" of universality, unconditionality, and regularity. In 1976, the Alaska Permanent Fund was established using part of its income from natural resources in the name of its natural resources being used for residents, and since 1982, it has paid part of its annual proceeds to all residents who had lived in Alaska for more than a year. This dividend was $1,000 (about 1.2 million won) in 1982 at the time of its first implementation, $1,600 (about 1.77 million won) in 2017, and $992 (about 1.1 million won) in 2020. The amount varies from year to year, because it is determined based on the five-year average of permanent fund. Consequently, Alaska residents are given the Dividends of about $1,000 every year.

These are some overseas cases that have actually introduced universal basic income conducted experiments. In Finland and Canada, the experiment was terminated early because the effectiveness of the introduction of the universal basic income system was not proven and the funding was difficult. In Alaska, unlike in Finland and Canada, the universal basic income system could continue to be implemented because revenue from natural resources did not cause financial difficulties. Looking at the above cases now, in order to successfully implement the universal basic income system in Korea, deep consideration will be needed to raise funds so as not to impose an excessive tax burden on the people.