Gangdong-gu Operates 752 Honorary Social Welfare Public Officials

Efforts to Strengthen Human Stability Network by Expanding Appointment of On-Site Visiting Workers in Daily Life Industries

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) appointed 55 employees of KEPCO MCS Gangdong-Songpa Branch and 135 newly recruited 'Honorary Social Welfare Officers' on the 10th to discover vulnerable households in welfare blind spots and expand the local community safety net.

Honorary Social Welfare Officers are unpaid honorary local residents who discover and support vulnerable households in welfare blind spots.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the number of vulnerable households has increased due to income reduction, unemployment, and business suspension or closure caused by economic downturn, increasing the need to effectively discover hidden vulnerable households.

Accordingly, the district is striving to strengthen the human safety net by expanding appointments to field workers such as electricity meter readers and other service industry workers.

Through these efforts, in March this year, the district consolidated and merged existing welfare communities that were similar or overlapping and expanded to 752 Honorary Social Welfare Officers across 17 neighborhoods through new recruitment.

They consist of local residents who voluntarily participate in providing information, reporting, and tip-off activities to discover vulnerable households.

The 190 newly appointed officers, together with the existing 562, will act as messengers by promptly reporting to Gangdong-gu when they find housing-vulnerable households or socially isolated households and providing various welfare project-related information.

In particular, the district expects that through the agreement with KEPCO MCS, which conducts field operations such as electricity meter reading, delivery, and power disconnection, it will be possible to respond quickly to potential vulnerable households by actively utilizing the field performance and mobility of electricity meter readers.

At the appointment ceremony held on the 10th, appointment letters and Honorary Social Welfare Officer certificates were awarded to about 60 of the 190 newly appointed officers, and a signing ceremony with KEPCO MCS was also held.

In addition, training on the role of Honorary Social Welfare Officers and life respect education were conducted together.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, "I hope that pride and a sense of mission for Honorary Social Welfare Officers have increased through this appointment ceremony," and added, "We will strive to discover vulnerable households at social risk early with Honorary Social Welfare Officers and provide customized welfare services."