"Landlords Check In and Neighbors Ask About Well-being"... 'Gangdong-style Welfare Safety Net' Fully Launched

Gangdong-gu Operates In(人)Plug and Our Neighborhood Senior Discovery Team (Care Team) to Identify Welfare Blind Spots
Establishing a Welfare Safety Net Where Neighbors Watch Over and Care with Reward System for Reporting At-Risk Households

Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Su-hee) announced that it will establish a public-private cooperation system involving residents, licensed real estate agents, and landlords, and actively work to identify vulnerable households by providing rewards to those who report such cases.

The district will fully implement the ‘In(人)Plug Project’ across all areas of Gangdong-gu this year, following its pilot operation last year as the first in Seoul. The InPlug Project is a human safety net initiative that enables licensed real estate agents and landlords to actively identify vulnerable households. During lease contracts, real estate agents inform landlords about the vulnerable household identification project, and if landlords or agents notice signs of tenant distress (such as neglected mail or unpaid rent), they are encouraged to report to the local community service center.

For this project, the district signed a business agreement with the Gangdong-gu branch of the Licensed Real Estate Agents Association in August last year and completed pilot operations in three neighborhoods (Seongnae-dong, Cheonho-dong, and Gil-dong). This year, a cooperative relationship has been established to enable 1,257 licensed real estate agents throughout Gangdong-gu to participate in the InPlug Project.

Lee Su-hee, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, said, “The participation of licensed real estate agents, who are well acquainted with local conditions, is expected to be a great help in identifying vulnerable households. We hope for active participation from real estate agents, landlords, and others to ensure the successful establishment of the In(人)Plug Project.”

Meanwhile, on the 14th, 52 members of the Our Neighborhood Senior Discovery Team and Care Team held a launching ceremony at Seongnae Comprehensive Social Welfare Center. Participating as part of the senior job project, they are mainly assigned to residentially vulnerable areas within the district to patrol and inquire, directly finding neighbors in need and providing welfare information. Activities are divided into the ‘Care Team,’ which visits vulnerable households to check on their well-being and deliver welfare supplies, and the ‘Discovery Team,’ which visits every household in the area to identify neighbors in difficulty.

In particular, the Our Neighborhood Senior ‘Discovery Team’ is a newly implemented senior job project this year aimed at directly finding neighbors in difficulty who cannot be identified through administrative systems and informing each household about welfare information. Since 2021, the district has been using senior job projects to check on welfare recipients and vulnerable households, making efforts to address social isolation and prevent solitary deaths.

Shin Su-jeong, Director of Welfare Policy, stated, “The most important factor in identifying and supporting welfare blind spots is ‘interest,’ and it is meaningful when the public and private sectors cooperate to fill each other’s gaps. We will continue to make every effort to build a dense welfare safety net to discover hidden vulnerable households in the community.”

Additionally, the district plans to actively utilize the ‘Vulnerable Household Discovery Reward System’ to encourage residents’ interest and proactive identification of welfare blind spots. Residents who discover vulnerable households can report them to the local community service center or via the KakaoTalk channel (‘Find Vulnerable Households, Receive Local Currency!’). If the reported household is selected as a basic livelihood security recipient or a lower-income class, the reporter can receive a reward of 50,000 KRW paid through Seoul Pay. The district also expanded the reward amount and eligibility through a related ordinance amendment in September last year.

For more details about the Vulnerable Household Discovery Reward System, please contact the nearest community service center or the Gangdong-gu Office’s Welfare Security Division.