Seongnam City to Intensively Identify and Support At-Risk Households in Welfare Blind Spots During Heatwave

Investigation of 2,137 Households with Overdue Utility Bills
Support Provided According to Situation, Including Welfare Registration and Energy Vouchers

Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Shin Sangjin) announced on August 1 that it will intensively identify and support households in crisis who are at risk of being left out of welfare coverage during the heatwave.

Seongnam City Hall view. Provided by Seongnam City

To this end, the city will investigate 2,137 households that have been listed in the welfare blind spot database due to being disconnected from electricity, gas, or water after defaulting on utility bills (for three months or more).

By category, these households include 1,929 elderly people aged 65 or older living alone and people with disabilities; 77 households with high monthly rent expenses compared to income, which are considered housing vulnerable; and 131 single-person households of middle-aged individuals aged 50 to 64.

The city will contact these households by phone or visit each home to assess their living conditions. Depending on the type of crisis, the city will provide public resources such as registration for basic livelihood support and emergency welfare including living expenses.

In addition, the city will provide energy vouchers such as electricity bill discounts and, in cooperation with private resources, install and supply cooling equipment.

This on-site investigation will be carried out through the end of September by 774 officials, including public servants in charge of Seongnam’s 50 districts and members of the local community welfare council.

Mayor Shin Sangjin stated, “The burden of cooling costs has greatly increased during this extreme heat, exacerbating the difficulties faced by vulnerable groups. We will actively identify those in need and provide practical support.”

Since the beginning of this year, over the past seven months, the city has conducted phone and in-person surveys of 6,823 households suspected of being in crisis using the same method, and has provided support to 5,959 of those households.