Achievements in Improving Social Workers' Treatment and Innovative Welfare Policies
Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced that it has received the 'Local Government Welfare Award' organized by the Korea Association of Social Workers in celebration of the '19th Social Workers' Day.'
This recognition is a result of improvements in social workers' treatment and achievements in innovative welfare policies.
The district established the 'Seongdong-gu Branch of the Social Workers Association' at the autonomous district level for the first time in Seoul in 2021, creating a focal point for enhancing social workers' rights and gathering their opinions.
Seongdong-gu has taken the lead in improving social workers' working conditions by significantly expanding the scale and amount of customized welfare points provided to social welfare facility workers, operating specialized job training, regular psychological counseling, mentoring, and healing programs.
Additionally, welfare policies closely reflecting residents' needs have increased resident satisfaction and become a benchmark for other local governments. A representative example is the enactment of the nation's first 「Ordinance on Respect and Rights Enhancement for Women with Career Breaks」 to eliminate social prejudice faced by women with career interruptions and promote their participation in economic activities.
The essential worker protection and support ordinance, first enacted nationwide by Seongdong-gu, was legislated into the Essential Workers Protection Act. Housing policies, including the first-ever comprehensive survey of semi-basement homes based on the ordinance on improving and supporting hazardous residences, are evaluated as top-level nationwide.
Welfare policies carefully designed based on communication with residents have increased resident satisfaction, with the '2024 Regular Public Opinion Survey' showing that 88.9% of residents?more than 8 out of 10?trust the Seongdong-gu Office.
Building on this award, the district plans to firmly establish itself as a leading autonomous district in social welfare and devote all efforts to improving social workers' treatment and promoting innovative, resident-centered welfare policies.
Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "We are doing our best to create an environment where social workers, who dedicate themselves on the front lines of the local community, are respected and can work with a sense of fulfillment. We are grateful for this honorable award and will continue to implement customized welfare policies that meet residents' needs and expectations to create Seongdong, an inclusive city where no one is left behind and everyone is happy."
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