Sancheong-gun Introduces Nation's First Senior Bathing and Beauty Voucher Card

NH Nonghyup Signs Business Agreement with Sancheong County Branch
Switching from Traditional Paper Vouchers to Card System

Exterior view of Deoksan Bathhouse building in Jirisan, Sicheon-myeon, Sancheong-gun (Photo by Sancheong-gun)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam, is the first in the nation to introduce and implement a voucher card system supporting elderly bathing rights and beauty service rights.

On the 22nd, Sancheong-gun announced that it signed a written business agreement with NH Nonghyup Bank Sancheong Branch to introduce the ‘Elderly Welfare Voucher Card System.’

Along with the introduction of this voucher card system, beauty service expenses will be expanded to support low-income elderly aged 70 and above.

According to the county and NH Nonghyup Bank, Sancheong-gun is the first in the country to support elderly bathing fees and beauty expenses through a voucher card.

Until now, the elderly bathing fee support project was conducted by producing paper-type vouchers annually and delivering them to recipients, and affiliated businesses settled the bathing vouchers afterward.

This method caused significant inconvenience to users, affiliated businesses, and administrative agencies due to the time-consuming distribution and settlement of paper vouchers and discrepancies in unit prices among businesses.

The elderly welfare voucher card is an electronic system where the county charges quarterly support amounts to the cards of eligible users, and users use them at affiliated stores contracted with the county.

Branch Manager Kwon Dong-hyun said, “As this is the first project implemented nationwide, we will strive for smooth business promotion to serve as a model for others,” adding, “As the county’s depository bank, we will provide convenience to users and administrative agencies and simplify tasks to enhance the reliability of welfare administration.”

A county official stated, “The introduction of this elderly welfare voucher card will greatly benefit elderly users, affiliated businesses, and administrative agencies,” and added, “We will continue to discover and promote elderly welfare policies that seniors can truly feel.”