Jung-gu, First Payment of Welfare Blind Spot Reporting Reward (100,000 Won)

Jung-gu District Office in Seoul (Mayor Kim Gil-seong) has seen its first beneficiary since launching the Crisis Household Reporting Reward System in November last year. The protagonist is Kim Seong-suk (53).

Ms. Kim runs a hair dyeing salon in Sindang 5-dong. Early this year, she noticed that a regular customer, Mr. A, had lost a lot of weight and became worried. After talking, she learned about his difficult situation. Mr. A said, “I recently lost my job and my health has deteriorated. Without any income, I can’t even afford meals, let alone treatment.” Ms. Kim decided not to charge Mr. A for hair dyeing as a small act of help.

Not stopping there, Ms. Kim visited the local community center in February to inquire about ways to assist Mr. A, and the community center actively took action. In March, Mr. A was selected as a Basic Livelihood Security recipient and began receiving monthly living and housing expenses.

Based on the “Jung-gu Crisis Household Discovery and Support Ordinance,” the district will award Kim Seong-suk (53) a reward of 100,000 KRW on the 26th (Friday) for her concern for neighbors and helping them receive welfare benefits. The 100,000 KRW reward is the largest amount among the 25 autonomous districts.

Last year, Jung-gu discovered 1,014 households in welfare blind spots and provided 1,291 welfare services.

The district counseled 3,804 households suspected of being in crisis, identified through the Social Security Information System and resident registration fact-finding investigations by surveyors, and found 714 households in need of help, linking them to welfare services.

Paying attention to the fact that many people face economic crises again even after their benefits end due to improved circumstances, the district conducted follow-up investigations on 245 residents whose benefits had ended and resumed welfare support for 103 of them.

A “Welfare Consultation Application” section was created on the moving-in notification form, allowing immediate welfare consultations if consent was given. Among 96 households that applied for consultation, 58 were proactively supported.

Jung-gu signed agreements with the Jung-gu Pharmaceutical Association, Korea Electric Power Corporation, KEPCO MCS, and the Seoul Northern Branch of the Korea Association of Realtors Jung-gu Chapter, receiving reports on eight suspected crisis households and providing help to two of them.

The district also received a total of 164 reports through the “Request for Welfare Help” bulletin board on the Jung-gu District Office website, KakaoTalk channel, and welfare hotline, supporting 44 households in urgent need.

Investigations were conducted on 122 households found through reports from local residents and other institutions, discovering 93 households and providing necessary welfare services.

A district official stated, “Going forward, Jung-gu will continue to discover welfare blind spots by signing agreements with institutions closely related to residents’ lives, such as medical institutions.” Additionally, “We plan to widely promote ways for people to directly request help when they are in difficulty.”