Suncheon-si Eliminates Welfare Blind Spots with Thorough Care

Suncheon-style Welfare Guaranteed by Sharing and Solidarity
A Retirement City with Guaranteed Jobs and Health
Improvement of Community Integrated Care Services
Expansion of Women-Friendly Policies for Women's Happiness
Safe and Strong Childcar

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon City (Mayor Heo Seok) announced the basic plan for the Suncheon-style welfare policy on the 4th.

In response to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the city plans to reorganize the local welfare network system to ensure that vulnerable groups who have been relatively suffering are not left out, and to spread a culture of sharing and solidarity, concentrating administrative efforts to realize a warmer welfare city Suncheon during the 7th local government term.

Suncheon City will promote five core policies to eliminate welfare blind spots: ▲ Establishment of a Suncheon-style welfare foundation based on sharing and solidarity, ▲ Completion of a livable city for a happy old age, ▲ Strengthening care partnerships to lead community-integrated care, ▲ Creation of a women-friendly city that is tangibly felt, ▲ Building a city where all children are fully respected without discrimination.

▶ Suncheon-style welfare guaranteed by sharing and solidarity for the future

During the three years of the 7th local government term, the welfare-related budget of Suncheon City increased by 42%, from 273.9 billion KRW in 2018 to 387.5 billion KRW this year based on the main budget. The city has expanded infrastructure for welfare that citizens can feel and that empowers their lives, implementing inclusive welfare policies enjoyed by everyone from infants to the elderly, laying the foundation for a warmer welfare city Suncheon in the 7th term.

Efforts have also been made to discover new beneficiaries, with basic livelihood recipients increasing by 724 households and 1,082 people compared to last year, reaching 6,972 households and 9,501 people, a rise of 11.6%, actively responding to the stabilization of low-income residents' lives through minimum livelihood guarantees.

Suncheon has also taken the lead in establishing a Suncheon-style welfare culture of sharing and solidarity through the practice of the “Kwonbun Movement,” which is developing into a representative donation culture in Korea.

By providing “Kwonbun Boxes” to 5,500 people, delivering 1.47 million masks, and promoting the Good Rent Movement, the city extended helping hands to citizens facing difficulties.

▶ A city for old age guaranteed with jobs and health

To enhance the happiness and life satisfaction of the elderly, the city is focusing on providing productive and sustainable income-generating opportunities tailored to individual characteristics rather than simple financial support.

Suncheon-style senior job projects, operation of silver cafes, and coordinators for senior centers provide quality jobs for the elderly, offering jobs to 3,530 seniors to promote income generation and health support.

Additionally, 118.5 billion KRW is invested in welfare facilities, basic pension support, health and long-term care insurance premium support for seniors aged 65 and over and 149 elderly welfare facilities, ensuring stable living and happy old age.

A public dementia-specialized day and night care center will open in September this year, and dementia treatment costs will be supported for all citizens. By creating an elderly-friendly city environment as suggested by the WHO, Suncheon plans to obtain certification as an “Age-friendly City” and establish long-term and sustainable policies to prepare for a super-aged society.

▶ Improvement of community-integrated care services

The city provides integrated care services that allow vulnerable groups in need of care in the community to receive housing, health, and daily life support together.

Care is provided in two housing support areas, seven nursing care areas including healthy meal support, smart care, and daily life mobility support, and five health and medical care areas including general and oriental medicine treatment.

A human safety net is established through 530 honorary social welfare officers composed of local residents and urban gas and water meter readers to discover households in crisis in daily life.

Furthermore, a 2 billion KRW emergency support budget is allocated for low-income households facing temporary difficulties, providing support through advance assistance followed by investigation to help them escape crisis situations and enjoy stable lives.

With the goal of proactive discovery of welfare blind spots and community-integrated care, the city plans to focus administrative power on achieving zero welfare blind spots by expanding the scope of discovery for detailed support, strengthening flexible support for life stabilization, and establishing a public-private cooperation system to address continuous welfare blind spots.

▶ Expansion of women-friendly policies for women’s happiness

Suncheon City was designated a “Women-friendly City” by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in 2016 and has been promoting various projects over five years (2017?2021) under the vision of “A Gender-equal and Happy City Opened by Women,” focusing on activating women’s participation, strengthening public-private governance, job care, and safety enhancement.

Additionally, the city plans to create a culture of gender equality in daily life, strengthen gender equality policy implementation, and expand women’s policy participation to challenge re-designation as a Women-friendly City in 2022.

The family center, funded last year as part of the Living SOC complex project, is scheduled for completion next year. The family center will provide integrated family services for all families including multicultural families, single-parent families, and single-person households, creating a women- and family-friendly environment.

Moreover, by operating a 40-member women-friendly citizen participation group and training women-friendly neighborhood instructors, the city expects to establish itself as a women-friendly city where all citizens are happy through communication on gender equality and women-friendly policies.

▶ Safe and strong childcare

Suncheon City strives to enhance children’s right to play through operation of the Comprehensive Childcare Support Center, expansion of the Together Care Center, free childcare, creation of the Miracle Playground, expansion of public daycare centers, training of play activity leaders, and operation of the Kkureogi Play Yard.

In addition, the city established a Child Rights Team in January this year to build a child abuse handling system and strengthen management of childcare facilities and dedicated staff placement to protect children’s rights, continuously promoting a child-friendly city where all children are fully respected without discrimination.

From next year, the city will also work to create a safe pregnancy and childbirth atmosphere by providing childbirth incentives ranging from 3 million KRW to 15 million KRW depending on birth order.

Mayor Heo Seok of Suncheon said, “The past three years have been a period of effort to develop welfare policies that empower citizens’ lives and to firmly establish the foundation for a welfare city.” He added, “Based on these efforts, we will complete a Suncheon-style welfare system where all citizens, including local residents, public and private sectors, and businesses, empathize, communicate, and cooperate so that the vulnerable are not excluded and everyone is respected and cared for, making all citizens protagonists of the local community.”