Daegu City Councilor Hwang Sun-ja urges support for marginalized unregistered senior centers in 5-minute speech

Hwang Sun-ja, a member of the Daegu City Council (People Power Party, Dalseo-gu 3), urged the establishment of concrete and effective measures to resolve the issue of unregistered senior centers during the 5-minute free speech at the 3rd plenary session of the 313th regular meeting held on the 12th.

In her speech, Councilor Hwang pointed out, "The importance of senior centers is increasing in a super-aged society, but unregistered senior centers, which have not been registered due to factors such as the number of users or inadequate facilities, are being excluded from various supports."

Daegu City Council Member Hwang Sun-ja

Currently, registered senior centers must meet conditions such as having more than 20 members, separate restrooms for men and women, installation of electrical facilities, and possession of a living room or lounge area of at least 20㎡. The Ministry of Health and Welfare supports unregistered senior centers by allowing them to display senior center plaques publicly and providing heating and cooling expenses if they have at least minimal resting spaces and a certain number of users.

Councilor Hwang emphasized, "Unregistered senior centers are exposed to poor facilities such as prefabricated containers and panels and various safety accident risks, making support urgently needed," and added, "We must promptly establish reasonable support standards to reduce welfare blind spots for the elderly."

She also stated, "Even for parts that can be prioritized for support, such as government heating and cooling expense subsidies, benefits should be provided without omission, and in the long term, efforts should be made to encourage the improvement of senior center facilities so that they can be converted into registered senior centers."

Finally, Councilor Hwang said, "Our role is to ensure that welfare benefits reach as many elderly people as possible," and urged, "Please prepare practical measures so that the elderly can spend a safe and warm winter."