Gwangju Nam-gu Sees Sharp Increase in Welfare Support Due to COVID-19 Impact

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (District Mayor Kim Byung-nae) announced on the 29th that the number of welfare service support cases, including livelihood and medical assistance provided to vulnerable residents this year, has significantly increased compared to the same period last year due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Nam-gu holds the Nam-gu Livelihood Security Committee once a month to assist vulnerable residents facing crises due to COVID-19 and to review emergency welfare and medical benefits for basic livelihood security recipients and households in crisis.

Up to September this year, the Livelihood Security Committee has been held a total of nine times, and through agenda reviews, the number of welfare support cases provided to vulnerable residents in the district has been tallied at 22,951.

This is an increase of 3,136 cases compared to 19,815 cases during the same period last year, and it also surpasses the total welfare support cases of 21,846 provided throughout last year.

With the COVID-19 spread showing no signs of easing and three months remaining in the year, a significant increase in welfare support cases provided to vulnerable residents in the district is expected by the end of this year.

Accordingly, Nam-gu plans to extend support for households expected to face crisis situations again even after receiving welfare assistance during a crisis.

Additionally, anticipating the impact of COVID-19 to continue into next year, welfare policies will be promoted to actively encourage economic independence and practical withdrawal from welfare by providing asset-building support and self-sufficiency jobs to low-income individuals with work capacity.

A Nam-gu official stated, “So far, the Nam-gu Livelihood Security Committee has determined the appropriateness of support by comprehensively considering on-site verification and the livelihood difficulties of support recipients rather than just the arithmetic figures of income and property,” and added, “We will continue to support households in crisis with a more proactive approach.”