Enactment of the "Integrated Care Support Ordinance"?A First for Local Governments
Establishing a Comprehensive Support System for Medical, Nursing, Housing, and Daily Care
Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province has become the first local government in South Korea to codify citizens' rights to care in its regulations.
On October 13, Gwangmyeong City announced that it had enacted and promulgated the "Ordinance on Integrated Support for Care in Gwangmyeong City" on October 2, which institutionally guarantees residents' rights to care.
The newly established ordinance aims to create a city where various care recipients-including seniors, people with disabilities, middle-aged and young adults, and isolated households-can continue to live healthy lives in their own communities. The core of the ordinance is to build a community-based integrated support system that encompasses medical, nursing, housing, and daily care services.
In particular, this ordinance is recognized for guaranteeing care as a public right and institutionalizing a structure that allows social economy organizations to participate, thereby presenting a community care model created together with citizens.
The city explained that the enactment of this ordinance has established a policy foundation that aligns with the "Basic Society Ordinance," which was enacted for the first time in the country last month. While the "Basic Society Ordinance" institutionalized universal rights for citizens, the "Integrated Care Support Ordinance" has made these rights more concrete in everyday life.
Previously, to lay the groundwork for self-sustaining care, the city operated a training program for social economy enterprises in the care sector in cooperation with the Gwangmyeong City Social Economy Center from September 4 to October 2.
Starting this month, Gwangmyeong City is also implementing the "Gwangmyeong City Integrated Care Support Project" as a pilot project in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This project involves working with five local hospitals to establish a care system that connects discharged patients with appropriate care services.
Next year, the city plans to promote a resident-led care ecosystem project utilizing the participatory budgeting system.
Park Seungwon, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City, stated, "This ordinance is the starting point for establishing care as a right, not as a form of charity. We will expand these rights so that any citizen in need can access care, and we will spread this sustainable care model nationwide."
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