"Expanding Social Service Providers to Ensure Nationwide Tangible Impact"

Josangmi, Director of the Central Social Service Agency, Holds First Press Briefing

Jo Sang-mi, Director of the Central Social Service Agency, stated on the 16th, “We will pursue both innovation and quality improvement to advance social services.” The goal is to build high-quality welfare services accessible not only to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled but to the entire population.

Josangmi, President of the Central Social Service Agency

At the first press briefing since the agency’s establishment, Director Jo diagnosed, “Due to low birth rates, aging population, and the increase in single-person households, demand for various social services is rapidly increasing,” but “currently, social services are mainly limited to vulnerable groups such as the elderly and low-income individuals.” She emphasized, “Now is the time for innovation so that social services can ultimately become services that all citizens can experience.” This means that social services should realize both welfare for the disadvantaged and universal welfare together.

However, many current social service providers are small-scale businesses, limiting quality improvement. Four to five out of ten social service providers have fewer than four employees. Since social services are operated mainly with government funding rather than private capital and focus on vulnerable groups, the foundation for innovation to benefit the middle class and above is weak.

Director Jo emphasized, “We will improve the quality of social services through forming small-scale cooperatives among small businesses, attracting startups, and creating innovation funds.” The plan is to increase competition among social service providers by diversifying supply entities. Quality evaluations of social service providers are also being conducted. Since last year, a social service quality certification system has been implemented, and 15 institutions have been certified so far. The goal is to increase this to 30 institutions by the end of this year.

The Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s policy holds that social services have not only welfare value but also industrial value. As social services advance, it becomes possible to provide high-quality, customized services to consumers, and companies can profit from this. According to the Central Social Service Agency, about 60% of South Korean citizens are willing to use social services, and among them, 44.1% are willing to pay for these services. This leads to an increase in related jobs, creating a virtuous cycle between welfare and the economy.

Director Jo said, “The role of the Central Social Service Agency is to make social services an attractive market from the perspective of suppliers such as companies.” Some critics argue that this shifts the responsibility of care to the private sector. In response, Director Jo explained, “The purpose is not to commercialize social services but to expand citizens’ options to choose good care services.”

The Ministry of Health and Welfare aims to increase the national utilization rate of social services to 40% and expand related jobs to 600,000 by 2027 through innovation and quality improvement. Director Jo emphasized, “(To achieve this) it is necessary for multiple ministries, not just the Ministry of Health and Welfare, to work together,” and “cooperation with local governments for regional linkage is also important.” She added, “The Central Social Service Agency will faithfully carry out its duties to serve as a central hub.”