ACC Report | K-Agri & Food

Up to 6 million won per year to residents, ‘Sunlight Pension’ for solar power in Sinan-gun, Korea

The Solar Power Complex in Sinan-gun and the Family of Residents, Image=ACC

Rural areas worldwide are facing severe demographic crises characterized by rapid population decline and aging. The exodus of populations due to urbanization and the resulting deterioration of local economies have long been considered intractable challenges for both developed and developing nations. However, a series of transformative changes in Sinan-gun, an island county located on the southwestern coast of South Korea, is offering an innovative solution to this global dilemma. At the core of this transformation lies the “Sunlight Pension” (Solar Dividend) policy — a strategic integration of renewable energy development and resident welfare. This article examines the empirical data and policy implications of Sinan-gun’s profit-sharing model to provide actionable insights for the global community.

1. Policy Introduction and the Mechanism of the Resident-Participatory Profit-Sharing System

Sinan-gun’s model is founded on a ‘resident-participatory profit-sharing system’ that transcends a simple energy transition. Historically, large-scale renewable energy projects were driven by massive external capital, resulting in a structural contradiction where the generated profits were siphoned out of the local economy while residents bore the environmental burden.

• Pioneering Institutional Framework: In October 2018, Sinan-gun proactively implemented the Renewable Energy Development Profit-Sharing Policy, effectively overcoming these structural limitations through bold institutional mandates.
• Cooperative Establishment and Lowering Entry Barriers: The county required residents to voluntarily form cooperatives when constructing solar power plants. To design an inclusive model where young adults and new rural migrants could easily participate, the cooperative membership fee was set exceptionally low, at approximately 10,000 KRW (roughly 8 USD).
• Profit Dividend Structure: Departing from the traditional power-producer-centric energy framework, Sinan-gun adopted a groundbreaking structure that directly distributes approximately 30% of the solar power generation profits back to the local residents.

2. Empirical Evidence of Income Growth

Since the full-scale disbursement of the Sunlight Pension began in April 2021 — a national first in South Korea — this policy has dramatically contributed to the economic stability and resilience of local residents.

• Cumulative Revenue and Beneficiary Scale: As of October 2025, the cumulative revenue generated from the renewable energy profit-sharing policy exceeded 30 billion KRW. Currently, the number of pension beneficiaries stands at 18,997, accounting for an impressive 49% of the county’s total population.
• Per Capita Income Increase: Residents receiving dividends are granted an annual pension ranging from 400,000 KRW up to 2,720,000 KRW per person. Sinan-gun is actively expanding its renewable energy infrastructure, targeting a future annual income generation of 6,000,000 KRW per resident.
• Investing in Future Generations (Sunlight Child Allowance): In May 2023, Sinan-gun introduced the ‘Sunlight Child Allowance’ for approximately 3,000 children under the age of 18, initially distributing 400,000 KRW per capita. This allowance was doubled to 800,000 KRW in 2024, and in 2025, it was structured to provide 100,000 KRW monthly, totaling 1,200,000 KRW annually per child.

3. The Miracle of Reverse Migration: Significant Population Influx

The assurance of a stable basic income has yielded a remarkable demographic outcome: a direct population influx into Sinan-gun, a region that was previously classified as being at a high risk of demographic extinction.

• Net Population Growth: While Sinan-gun’s total population had been on a continuous decline since 2014, it reached a critical turning point in 2023 as pension disbursements gained momentum, marking two consecutive years of net population growth. By September 2025, the combined synergistic effects of the Sunlight Pension and the newly introduced Wind Pension resulted in a net increase of 710 residents.
• The Miracle of Anjwa-do: In Anjwa-do, the island where the system was first established, the population had plummeted to around 2,700 in 2020 due to the outmigration of the younger demographic. However, following the initiation of the pension system, the population rapidly rebounded, reaching 3,387 by the end of 2024. This represents an astonishing demographic increase of approximately 15% in just four years.
• Local Economic Multiplier Effect: The entirety of the pension is disbursed in ‘Local Love Gift Certificates,’ a localized currency that can only be consumed within the region. As this capital circulates exclusively through the local commercial sector, it generates a powerful economic multiplier effect, significantly boosting the sales of small business owners and revitalizing the grassroots economy.

Conclusion

Sinan-gun’s Sunlight Pension serves as a historic policy experiment that has successfully translated the abstract, theoretical concepts of ‘Climate Dividends’ and ‘Universal Basic Income’ into concrete, quantifiable realities. The strategic institutional design that drastically lowered entry barriers, coupled with the creation of substantial and reliable cash flows for residents, has demonstrated undeniable success in revitalizing the local economy and driving definitive population growth. This case provides a clear, empirical milestone for local governments worldwide, illustrating a highly pragmatic and effective approach to simultaneously mitigating the dual crises of climate change and rural extinction.