Hanam City Wins Minister’s Award for Disability Welfare Innovation
Hanam’s “Warm Companionship” Report Sets Benchmark for Local Governments Nationwide
The dignity of a city is determined by how it embraces its most vulnerable members. In 2025, Hanam City went beyond merely providing budgetary support and formal administration, establishing a new milestone in South Korea’s welfare administration by realizing the value of a “warm companionship” where people with and without disabilities live together in harmony.
On December 26, Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province announced its major achievements in the field of disability welfare for the year. These accomplishments are especially meaningful as they simultaneously achieved both quantitative growth and qualitative maturity-eliminating blind spots in care, improving systems to prevent the misuse of taxpayers’ money, and addressing the pain experienced by families of people with disabilities.
"Precious Taxes, Used Where Most Needed"... Miracles Created in the Field, 87.5% Drop in Fraudulent Claims
The welfare budget is not an “endless well” but a precious resource gathered from the hard work of citizens.
To ensure transparency in the “Disability Activity Support Program,” which accounts for half of Hanam City’s disability welfare budget, the city chose to address the fundamentals. Rather than relying solely on monitoring and punishment, the team leader from city hall personally visited the field, providing “interactive education” to activity support workers on proper budget usage and ethical awareness.
This sincere approach proved effective. Last year, there were 48 cases of fraudulent claims, but this year, the number dropped sharply to just six-a remarkable decrease of 87.5%. This is considered a model case of “sound fiscal management,” as it prevented waste of taxes caused by a lack of education and redirected those resources to provide tangible benefits to more people with disabilities.
"Wiping Away Families’ Tears"... Intensive Care and the Nationwide Spotlight on 'Safety Insurance'
Hanam City shouldered burdens that even families struggled to bear. For individuals with severe developmental disabilities who had been denied access to existing care facilities due to challenging behaviors, the city launched a “Comprehensive Intensive Care Service” in April this year, providing one-on-one care by specialized personnel.
This offered a haven for people with disabilities who had nowhere else to go, and gave families exhausted from 24-hour care the gift of ordinary daily life. The city plans to expand the service by designating an additional provider next year, beyond the single provider currently in operation.
Hanam City also demonstrated attention to detail in ensuring mobility rights. For people with disabilities, a powered wheelchair is not just a machine but their “legs.” However, concerns about liability in the event of an accident often discouraged outings. To address this, Hanam City introduced the “Companion Safety Insurance for People with Disabilities,” which provides third-party liability coverage for accidents occurring during operation.
This system has become a safety net, enabling people with disabilities to venture out with peace of mind. It has been recognized as a pioneering policy, with local governments across the country-including Seo-gu in Gwangju Metropolitan City and Ulju-gun in North Gyeongsang Province-requesting benchmarking.
"Minister’s Award for Disability Policy"... Hanam’s Innovation Recognized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety
Hanam City’s compassionate approach extended beyond people with disabilities themselves, delving deeply into the pain of families who had long been overlooked by policy. The “Solid Hanam Emotional Solidarity Project” (hereafter “Danhanam”), which won the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award this year, is the fruit of these efforts. In collaboration with the Hanam City Disability Family Support Center, the project focused on the hidden burdens of fathers raising children with disabilities and the sense of relative isolation experienced by non-disabled siblings, earning high praise from the judges. Among numerous public service design projects, it was highly unusual for a policy related to people with disabilities to advance to the final round and win the minister’s award. This achievement marks the central government’s official recognition of Hanam City’s welfare administration as “the most humane and creative model.”
Above all, “Danhanam” is far from a desk-bound administrative project. Through citizen interviews and workshops, the city incorporated real voices from the field into policy, and by securing support from Starfield Hanam and collaborating with local special schools, it presented a model answer for sustainable “public-private-academic governance.”
"A City Without Discrimination Becomes a Culture"... 1,220 Citizens Participate in Awareness Improvement
The completion of welfare lies in the hearts of citizens. Hanam City opened the doors to disability awareness education, which had previously been limited to mandatory legal training. More than 1,220 people-including public officials, local leaders such as community heads and residents’ autonomy committee members, and ordinary citizens-participated in the education.
Particularly notable were the “outreach administration” and “budget savings.” Without allocating a separate budget, the city collaborated with the Hanam City Welfare Center for the Disabled to visit and provide education directly to 475 members of related organizations in 14 districts from July to October. Thanks to these efforts, the consensus that “disability is not wrong, but different” has spread throughout the community, laying the mental foundation for Hanam City to move toward becoming a truly “Barrier Free” city.
Securing 200 Million Won in Provincial Funds for a 'New Home'... The Rebirth of the Former Veterans’ Hall
Hanam City’s efforts extended to spatial innovation (hardware) as well. By securing 200 million won in special adjustment grants from Gyeonggi Province, the city reduced its own financial burden and completely remodeled the old Veterans’ Hall and the multipurpose welfare center-both previously outdated and cramped-into customized spaces for people with disabilities.
Hanam City has completely remodeled the multipurpose welfare center into a customized space for people with disabilities. Photo by Hanam City
This new home, which opened in October with a celebration attended by over 100 people with disabilities, now houses specialized facilities such as the “Disability Health Center” and the “Senior Rest Area for People with Disabilities.” It is more than just a building-it is a true healing space where people with disabilities can care for their health and relax comfortably.
Lee Hyunjae, Mayor of Hanam City, stated, “2025 was a year in which Hanam City’s disability welfare made a remarkable leap forward, achieving a perfect combination of systems, infrastructure, and citizen awareness.” He emphasized, “We will continue to focus all administrative efforts on making Hanam a city where no citizen is left behind and where the warmth of humanity flows-a city where people truly want to live.”
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