Residents of Seohae 5 Islands to Receive 150,000 Won Monthly Support

Support Criteria for Aged Houses Relaxed from 30 Years to 20 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Starting this year, the 'Residential Living Support Fund' that provided 120,000 KRW monthly to residents of the Seohae 5 Islands will be increased to 150,000 KRW (60,000 to 80,000 KRW for residents with less than 10 years of residence).

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 17th that it has revised related guidelines to expand support so that residents of the Seohae 5 Islands, who suffer from geographical disadvantages, can live more stable lives.

With this guideline revision, the increased amount will be applied starting from the Residential Living Support Fund paid in January. Residents of the Seohae 5 Islands who own houses older than 20 years will be eligible to apply for the Old House Renovation Project. The criteria for houses eligible for support under the Old House Renovation Project have been relaxed from over 30 years old to over 20 years old. As of the end of last year, this project targets residents who own buildings on the Seohae 5 Islands and have been registered and actually residing there for more than 6 months. However, residents must bear at least 20% of the construction costs themselves, and up to 40 million KRW per building will be supported for renovation and repair.

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is speaking at a meeting on the 12th during his visit to the security site in Baengnyeongdo, where he listened to residents' suggestions regarding the emergency response system. Photo by Ministry of the Interior and Safety

The Residential Living Support Fund and Old House Renovation Project for residents of the Seohae 5 Islands are part of the 'Seohae 5 Islands Comprehensive Development Plan' established after North Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. After enacting the Special Act for Supporting the Seohae 5 Islands in December 2010, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, and other related ministries jointly established the 'Seohae 5 Islands Comprehensive Development Plan' in 2011, which plans to support a total of 99 projects with 758.5 billion KRW by 2025.

Major projects include support for maritime transportation costs (Ministry of the Interior and Safety), construction of Yonggipo Port (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries), installation of public sewage systems (Ministry of Environment), construction of hospital ships (Ministry of Health and Welfare), and recently, the 'Baengnyeong Airport Construction' project, which passed the preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Choi Hoon, Director of the Local Autonomy Balanced Development Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "The Seohae 5 Islands suffer from difficulties due to their unique geographical characteristics, making government attention and support essential," and added, "We will spare no effort to support residents' lives to improve at the government-wide level going forward."