Exploring Measures to Identify and Support Vulnerable Groups in Crisis... The 41st Policy Communication Forum Held

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will jointly hold the 41st Policy Communication Forum on the 29th at the Policy Communication Forum space in Seoul under the theme, "Is there a way to look after neighbors in crisis on their own?"

This forum was organized to explore ways to provide welfare information in an easy-to-understand manner to the public and to proactively identify and support vulnerable groups in crisis by simplifying service application procedures and documents, amid the occurrence of blind spots in the social safety net due to the social security system based on individual applications.

Starting with a topic introduction by Naju Beom, Deputy Minister of Education, Lee Sang-don, Director of the Education Welfare Policy Division, will introduce the "Plan and progress for establishing an early detection and prevention-centered student-tailored integrated support system," followed by Na Eun-jong, Officer in charge of Social Policy Agendas, sharing the "Direction for implementing comprehensive measures to protect and support socially vulnerable groups in crisis."

Next, in expert presentations, Professor Choi Ji-sun of the Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare will discuss "Various field approaches to help crisis households enter the social safety net," and Kim Tae-wan, Director of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, will propose policy alternatives on the topic of "Improvement plans related to laws and systems for identifying socially vulnerable groups in crisis and emergency welfare support."

Additionally, three citizens interested in the social security system will freely speak about inconveniences they have experienced in social welfare administrative services in their daily lives.

After the presentations, the presenters along with officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will respond to on-site questions, and discussions on improving the social security delivery system and emergency welfare support system will continue through the YouTube live chat.

Meanwhile, the forum will be held in person but will be broadcast live in real time on the YouTube channel "Policy Communication Forum," allowing any citizens wishing to participate to watch.

Furthermore, various public opinions proposed at the forum will be finalized as policy proposals after a maturation discussion in the first week of next month, and after review by the relevant ministries, they will be reflected in policies.

Naju Beom, Deputy Minister of Education, stated, "Vulnerable groups are exposed to various social risk factors such as income, employment, health, and crime in a complex manner, so inter-ministerial cooperation is essential to strengthen the social safety net," adding, "We will do our best to create policies that the public can feel by reflecting the voices from the field, including difficulties in daily life, as much as possible."