[Interview] Park Junhee, Gwanak-gu Mayor, "Supporting Happy Lives of Single-Person Households"

Youth, Women, and Middle-aged Single-person Household Customized Support Policies Promoted, 44 Projects in 4 Major Areas, 22.4 Billion KRW Scale... Expansion of Single-person Household Support Centers Operation, Reinforcement of Dedicated Team Personnel, Creation of Exclusive Spaces and Counseling Rooms

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “Gwanak-gu has the highest proportion of single-person households in the country at 61%. Support for single-person households requires strong policy backing through solidarity with the local community above all else. We are creating a ‘Happy Single-Person Household Gwanak’ by preparing support policies that address the anxieties and diverse needs of the rapidly increasing single-person households.”

Park Jun-hee, Mayor of Gwanak-gu, said this while leading support efforts for single-person households.

As of May 2022, Gwanak-gu has about 170,000 single-person households, accounting for approximately 61% of the total 280,000 households, making it the district with the highest proportion of single-person households among Seoul’s districts.

Accordingly, the district thoroughly reviewed various projects supporting single-person households last year, established a comprehensive plan, and is implementing customized support policies worth a total of 22.4 billion KRW from this year through 2024.

Through organic cooperation among 16 related departments across four areas?▲housing and jobs ▲safety ▲health and care ▲formation of social networks?and Seoul city’s public projects, 44 support projects for single-person households are being actively promoted.

Mayor Park stated, “Support projects for vulnerable groups, middle-aged, and elderly, which have been the focus of existing single-person household policies, have been greatly expanded. Reflecting the district’s characteristic that 62.4% of single-person households are young adults, many youth-focused policies such as youth single-person household community classes and the Youth Small Business One-Meal Sharing Regional Coexistence Project are being implemented.”

Among them, the ‘Youth Small Business One-Meal Sharing Regional Coexistence Project’ supports young small business owners, economically vulnerable youth delivery workers, and vulnerable single-person households, contributing to youth job creation and strengthening community networks with vulnerable groups.

Especially, the ‘Happy Companionship’ program for middle-aged single-person households, launched in April this year, provides practical capacity-building programs and social network opportunities to middle-aged individuals who face higher risks of social disconnection and isolation compared to other single-person households, receiving great positive responses.

Additionally, considering the relatively vulnerable nature of crime prevention in areas densely populated by single-person households, the district is actively promoting projects to enhance daily safety and is pioneering the nation’s first urban ‘Autonomous Driving-Based Safe Patrol Service’ project to create a crime prevention environment.

Mayor Park emphasized women’s happiness and safety, saying, “The proportion of female single-person households is also the highest nationwide, so we are promoting the ‘Women’s Safety Special District Gwanak’ project to ensure women and socially vulnerable groups can live safely.”

Gwanak-gu was selected as an excellent case in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘2022 Resident Life Innovation Case Expansion Project’ for contributing to the creation of a safe local environment through services such as the nation’s first illegal filming camera self-inspection equipment rental service and installation of safety bells in female-run single-person stores.

To ensure the effectiveness of single-person household support projects, the district enacted and promulgated the ‘Gwanak-gu Single-Person Household Support Ordinance’ last year, accelerating the establishment of an institutional foundation for ‘Happy Single-Person Household Support.’

In particular, this year, to secure the effectiveness of single-person household policies, the district will strengthen the functions and expand the operation of the ‘Single-Person Household Support Center.’ By remodeling the Gwanak-gu Family Center to create dedicated spaces and counseling rooms and establishing a dedicated project team for single-person households, the district plans to expand and operate education, leisure and cultural programs, and customized psychological counseling services tailored to the needs of users.

Going forward, the district will establish an annual ‘Single-Person Household Support Implementation Plan’ to thoroughly carry out projects by checking, revising, and supplementing progress according to the comprehensive plan, and will continuously discover new projects based on residents’ demands.

Mayor Park Jun-hee said, “Many vulnerable single-person households we do not yet know are still going through difficult times. We will continue to gather diverse opinions, discover practically necessary policies, provide newer and more proactive administrative services, and do our utmost to create a happy Gwanak where no one is left behind.”