Yeongju City to Urgently Provide Cooling Cost Support to 6,600 Vulnerable Households

3.3 Billion Won in Reserve Funds Allocated Separately for Energy Voucher Program

Yeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province will use reserve funds to urgently support cooling expenses for low-income and vulnerable groups who are struggling due to ongoing heatwaves and increased electricity bills.

According to the city on the 12th, cooling expenses of 50,000 won will be provided to approximately 5,700 households receiving basic livelihood security benefits and about 900 legally recognized low-income households, totaling around 6,600 households. For this, the city has urgently allocated a budget of 330 million won.

The city determined that government support measures alone are insufficient to address the difficulties faced by vulnerable groups, so it will provide an emergency cooling expense of 50,000 won per household separately from the energy voucher program.

Yeongju City Hall.

The support will be provided as cash to each household and will be deposited into welfare benefit accounts sequentially throughout August without any separate application process.

Park Namseo, Mayor of Yeongju, stated, "We decided to provide emergency cooling expenses to help vulnerable groups suffering from the ongoing heatwave," and added, "We will continue to strengthen practical welfare support measures that low-income groups can truly feel."

Since the 28th of last month, the city has been operating the Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters to prevent casualties and other issues caused by the summer heatwave, establishing and operating a situation management system and implementing detailed measures such as intensive management of heat-vulnerable groups.

The city is managing 164 cooling shelters by supporting cooling expenses, conducting continuous inspections, and improving facilities to ensure citizens can use the shelters comfortably. For vulnerable groups such as elderly people living alone, those with mobility difficulties, and elderly farmers, customized elderly care services and local autonomous disaster prevention teams are being utilized to make welfare calls and conduct frequent checks.

On the 9th, Mayor Park Namseo visited households of elderly people living alone and cooling shelters to listen to the difficulties faced by citizens due to the prolonged heatwave and directly checked on their safety.

Park Namseo, mayor of Yeongju City, is visiting the homes of elderly people living alone to hear about the difficulties caused by the heatwave.