Understanding Young Adults' Attitudes Towards Basic Income Scheme in South Korea: Insights From a Vignette-Based Survey and a Conjoint Experiment

While existing research has primarily examined whether individuals accept or reject basic income schemes in Europe and North America, this study explores a broader range of attitudes among young adults towards basic income schemes in Korea. This study utilises the five features of basic income defined by the Basic Income Earth Network and identifies favoured and disfavoured conditions of basic income. The vignette-based survey targets the respondents who had firsthand experience of receiving Youth Basic Income in Gyeonggi Province, as well as those without such experience. A conjoint analysis reveals mixed attitudes among young adults for the basic income attributes and their alternatives. Specifically, unconditionality consistently receive less favourable evaluations, even among respondents with prior experience. Also, direct exposure to the programme does not produce a generalised increase in support for basic income, but selectively shapes evaluations of design features. These findings may contribute to the ongoing discussion on basic income programme design and the influences of institutions.