Seongdong-gu Provides Up to 1.5 Million Won in Customized Support for Education Expenses for Youth Preparing for Independence

Support for career exploration costs such as education and exam fees for certification to strengthen self-reliance capabilities and find stable jobs... Operation of daily life mentoring programs to provide psychological and emotional stability, offering useful lifestyle information from organizing storage to cooking methods

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) is promoting the ‘Seongdong-type Strong Care Support Project for Youth Preparing for Independence’ targeting youth preparing for independence and prospective youth preparing for independence.

Youth preparing for independence refers to young people who have been under the care of child-rearing facilities or foster families and whose protection ends after the age of 18 (or 24 if extended), requiring them to prepare for full independence.

Youth preparing for independence often face difficulties in becoming self-reliant due to insufficient preparation after their protection ends.

Accordingly, the district operates a career exploration support and daily life mentoring program through the ‘Seongdong-type Strong Care Support Project for Youth Preparing for Independence’ to help these youth develop independence capabilities and settle stably in society. The district also expands support to prospective youth preparing for independence (ages 15-17), the stage before independence preparation. As of the demand survey conducted at the end of July, a total of 33 individuals will receive support.

First, career exploration support is a personalized support project that helps youth preparing for independence strengthen their capabilities and find stable employment. It provides support for education fees and exam fees to obtain certifications for special skills and talent development. Certifications such as driver’s license, computer skills, cook, bakery, pet grooming, barista, as well as foreign languages, webtoon, patent attorney, entrepreneurship, and other certifications recognized as necessary for independence can receive up to 1.5 million KRW per person.

The daily life mentoring program supports the formation of psychological support systems and emotional stability for youth preparing for independence who have no one to rely on while preparing to stand on their own. Two child protection specialists and two public officials form groups with 5-6 youth preparing for independence and regularly interact once a month to maintain emotional bonds.

Group meetings are also held to share know-how for daily life convenience. To promote healthy social independence, essential information for daily life such as organizing and storage, waste separation and disposal, utility bill payments, and finance will be provided, along with meal kits and guidance on how to use them to improve eating habits.

Seongdong-gu enacted the ‘Seongdong-gu, Seoul Metropolitan City Ordinance on Support for Youth Preparing for Independence’ in 2022 and has been operating the ‘Seongdong-type Youth Preparing for Independence Support Project’ since last year. For youth preparing for independence who have lived continuously in Seongdong-gu for more than six months before protection ends, the district provides economic independence support separately from government aid by giving a one-time settlement fund of 1 million KRW at the end of protection and an additional monthly independence allowance of 100,000 KRW.

Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, stated, “Youth preparing for independence who must become adults on their own need not only financial support but also personalized support for concrete career preparation and a support system that can embrace the difficulties they experience in daily life more than ever before. We will continue to carefully monitor and promote various support projects so that young people can grow well as members of society.”