Gyeonggi-do Icheon City has significantly strengthened its policies to create an age-friendly and disability-friendly city. With the increasing proportion of elderly population due to aging, the city plans to implement sustainable welfare policies through job creation and other measures.
According to Icheon City on the 7th, the city has allocated a budget of 184.6 billion KRW for the elderly and disability welfare sector this year. This amount is 2.6% higher than last year's 179.8 billion KRW. Despite the overall tight fiscal policy, the related budget has been increased.
The elderly population in Icheon City is 36,189, accounting for 15.5% of the total population. Registered disabled persons also number 10,964, making up 4.7% of the total population.
'Age-Friendly City' Certification Promotion... Expansion of Elderly Safety and Job Projects
Starting this month, the city is promoting certification as an 'Age-Friendly City' where not only the elderly and disabled but all generations can be healthy and vibrant. An 'Age-Friendly City' refers to a city equipped with age-friendly policies, facilities, and services that enable elderly people to lead healthy and active social lives.
Perspective view of the 'Southern Region Welfare Center for the Disabled' being constructed in Jinam-ri, Janghowon-eup, Icheon City. [Image source=Icheon City]
The city plans to prepare for certification focusing on the eight major areas proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO): external environment, facilities, convenience of transportation, stability of residential environment, leisure and social activities, utilization of human resources, respect and social integration, and communication and information.
To this end, the city will first promote the enactment of the 'Icheon Age-Friendly City Creation Ordinance' in the first half of the year, and form a public-private cooperation promotion committee involving citizens to propose and monitor age-friendly city policies tailored to local characteristics.
The ‘Emergency Safety and Security Service’ project for elderly living alone and severely disabled persons will also be expanded. This service installs equipment such as gateways and fire detectors using information and communication technology (ICT) in vulnerable elderly households, automatically reporting emergencies to 119 and emergency management personnel through fire and activity monitoring. Starting this year, the city plans to add and expand the service target to include elderly couples and grandparent-grandchild households, managing a total of 667 units.
Job projects to ensure stable retirement income for seniors will also be expanded. The city was previously selected as the executing agency for the '2024 Gyeonggi-do Senior Job Creation Support Market-Type Project' and is preparing the 'Cafe To-Go (TO-GO)' project. 'Cafe Bongbong,' which provides new social activities and jobs for the elderly, is scheduled to open this month in the lower village of Seolbong Park.
Construction of Eco-Friendly Cremation Facility... Expansion of Disability Independence Projects
The city is also re-pursuing the construction of a cremation facility that was previously canceled once. The plan aims to alleviate residents' inconvenience caused by having to travel far for cremation due to insufficient funeral facilities.
To gather local residents' opinions on funeral facilities, the city conducted a residents' forum and survey last year, and plans to select the final project site this month and complete pre-construction administrative procedures. Recently, three places have applied for the cremation facility public offering.
Forum scene held by Icheon City for the construction of a cremation facility. [Photo by Icheon City]
The 'Disability Independent Housing Project' for stable housing of disabled persons is also attracting attention. This project provides services combining stable housing and independent living care to help disabled persons live independently in the local community.
To this end, the city will open a public offering for the executing agency of the disability independent housing project next month. At the same time, four candidates for independence will be selected and housed in rental housing provided by Gyeonggi-do and the city. The city will also provide personalized services such as housing contracts, moving support, residential environment improvement, and health checkups through dedicated personnel.
Meanwhile, the city is promoting the construction of the 'Southern Region Disability Welfare Center (tentative name)' with a total investment of 17 billion KRW at 99-2 Jinam-ri, Janghowon-eup, with a total floor area of 4,240㎡. The Southern Region Disability Welfare Center is a public healing agricultural welfare facility combining agriculture and welfare in Gyeonggi-do. The welfare center will consist of a Mental Health Care Center, Daycare Facilities for Disabled Persons, Agricultural and Floral Healing Spaces, and Agricultural Product Sales Spaces, aiming to open in 2026.
In addition, the city supports the operation of the 'Disability 365 Shelter' for severely disabled persons requiring emergency protection at home. The 365 Shelter provides temporary care services for severely disabled persons who need urgent protection due to unexpected situations such as caregiver hospitalization, family events, or travel. Shelter residents can use the facility for up to 30 days per year and, by paying 20,000 KRW per day, can receive meals as well as various specialized services.
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