Boseong-gun, Promoting the 'Welfare 600' Policy Together with Residents

Promotion of More Comprehensive Health and Welfare Policies by Life Cycle

Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it will implement various policies in 2024 to create a strong and inclusive ‘Bokji600’ welfare system together with its residents.

Following its six-time crown in the health and welfare sector in 2022, Boseong-gun was again recognized as an excellent institution in 2023 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in areas such as basic livelihood security, post-management of social security benefits, and childcare policy, earning five crowns in the health and welfare field and repeatedly proving its administrative capabilities both domestically and internationally.

Welfare 600 'Rural Talent Sharing Festival' Photos
Photo by Boseong-gun

This year, based on the slogan “Hopeful Boseong full of dreams and happiness,” the county will promote detailed and robust welfare policies tailored to each life cycle according to the five core goals of the county administration.

▲ Elderly Welfare: Caring Together Like Our Own Parents

To support productive and happy healthy aging for seniors, 350 million KRW will be invested this year in the ‘Boseong-type Senior Job Project’ linked with the ‘Boseong600 Project,’ which is cultivated by the community.

Additionally, as part of the expanded ‘Clean600 Project’ under the Boseong600 initiative, a ‘Visiting Blanket Laundry Service’ will be promoted, and social care services will be strengthened through programs such as ‘We Care for Seniors Living Alone in Our Neighborhood,’ ‘Senior Guardians,’ and ‘Customized Senior Care Service Project.’

Care using IT equipment will also be provided. To assist seniors who have difficulty responding in emergencies, 1,727 emergency safety and security service devices will be installed and distributed to maintain a rapid reporting system.

The AI care robots, initiated in 2021, were selected last year in the Jeollanam-do Information and Communication Science and Technology Department’s public project, and 50 additional units will be distributed, bringing the total to 90 units, expanding safety zones for seniors and minimizing blind spots in community care.

For seniors’ healthy aging, four sets (one table and four chairs) of standing tables will be provided to senior centers that request them, and fire insurance and business liability insurance will be collectively subscribed for approximately 450 registered senior centers.

The ‘K-Dessert Experience Project,’ which received high satisfaction from seniors, will continue to operate in senior centers this year, and various programs desired by seniors will be expanded in 2024.

▲ Expanding Dreams Together: Welfare for Women, Multicultural Families, and Youth

Career-interrupted women aged 35 to 65 will receive a ‘Career Continuation Voucher’ worth 500,000 KRW, and through employment and entrepreneurship education and job counseling, 100 people will be provided with new jobs annually.

For multicultural families, a ‘Multicultural Cultural Festival’ will be held to create a space where multicultural families can mingle with local residents, overcoming language and cultural differences and fostering harmony with neighbors.

A new ‘Youth Cultural Festival’ has also been established to support the healthy growth of youth and allow them to showcase their dreams and talents. Additionally, starting this year, support for sanitary products for female youth will be expanded through the Hometown Love Fund project.

▲ Child Welfare: Raising Children Together Like Our Own

‘Visiting Care Services’ will be expanded for children under 12 years old in families experiencing childcare gaps due to reasons such as dual-income parents.

Previously, support was differentiated by household income level, but from this year, families with two or more children will receive an additional 10% support on their own payment, and young single parents under 24 years old raising children aged 0 to 1 (with median income below 150%) will only pay 10% of the usage fee.

Also, the ‘Parent Allowance’ paid to parents of infants aged 0 to 1 not attending daycare, which started last year, will be increased from 700,000 KRW to 1,000,000 KRW for 0-year-olds and from 350,000 KRW to 700,000 KRW for 1-year-olds starting this year.

The child care system will also change. The ‘Dream Start Project’ supports 176 children in 126 vulnerable households with 36 types of programs across various fields, and ‘Customized Integrated Services’ provide craft classes, cooking classes, family healing camps, job experience outings, and happy cultural outings.

Since 2017, 12 local children’s centers and community care centers have received 18 million KRW annually (1.5 million KRW per center) for teaching materials and supplies, and support for personnel costs for school transportation safety helpers is provided to improve the care environment.

The child meal support unit price has been raised from 8,000 KRW to 9,000 KRW to provide a healthy meal, and support for the independence preparation of children aging out of care is also provided. The independence allowance paid for five years to young adults preparing for independence has been increased from 400,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW per month.

▲ Strong Welfare for the Disabled with High Perceived Impact

This year, 143 disabled persons will receive income activities and social adaptation training through job projects, and the basic disability pension will increase by 3.3% compared to last year (from 323,180 KRW to 333,850 KRW).

Continuing from last year, the ‘WE ♡ Surisuri Boseong365’ project, a demand-centered disability support system, will be promoted to strengthen the foundation for independent living.

To secure mobility rights for the disabled, new projects will be launched to install barrier-free portable ramps and support insurance premiums for electric assistive devices for the disabled.

▲ Expansion of Veterans’ Culture Including New Survivors’ Allowance

Living up to the name ‘Ui-hyang Boseong,’ starting this year, a ‘Survivors’ Allowance for Veterans’ of 80,000 KRW per month will be paid for the first time, and the ‘Veterans Honor Allowance’ and ‘Veterans Participation Allowance’ will be increased from 50,000 KRW to 80,000 KRW and from 100,000 KRW to 120,000 KRW per month, respectively.

The ‘69th Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony’ will be hosted by Jeollanam-do to strengthen respect for national veterans.

▲ Operating the Public-Private Cooperative “Our Neighborhood Welfare Mobile Unit” to Reach Out to Marginalized Neighbors

The public-private cooperative ‘Our Neighborhood Welfare Mobile Unit’ will provide field-centered visiting welfare services.

The unit consists of 13 vehicles and 198 members, providing up to 1.5 million KRW support for households needing daily life improvement, and up to 700,000 KRW in living stabilization support such as living expenses, medical expenses, and housing costs for low-income crisis households, taking the lead in resolving daily life issues.

▲ Increased Emergency Welfare Living Support and Relaxed Income and Asset Criteria to Address Crisis Situations

From this year, the emergency welfare living support for single-person households will increase by about 14%. The previous income and asset criteria for single-person households were income below 1,558,419 KRW and financial assets below 8,077,000 KRW, but from this year, the criteria have been relaxed to income below 1,671,334 KRW and financial assets below 8,228,000 KRW, allowing many crisis households to benefit.

Emergency welfare support is a system that provides rapid assistance tailored to crisis situations for low-income people who have difficulty maintaining their livelihood due to death, job loss, illness, and other crises.

Main support includes living, medical, housing, and welfare facility use, with additional support for education, fuel costs, childbirth, funeral, and electricity bills. Furthermore, nine types of support are available through connections with private organizations such as the Community Chest of Korea.

A Boseong-gun official stated, “We plan to continuously implement welfare policies that leave no area neglected, including elderly welfare, youth welfare, child welfare, and disability welfare,” adding, “In 2024, we will discover and promote various policies to expand welfare without exclusion and for the vulnerable, creating a welfare Boseong that plants hope and harvests happiness.”

Boseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Cheon-seok hss79@asiae.co.kr