Goseong County in South Gyeongsang Province is implementing welfare policies that provide a variety of benefits to guarantee the dignity of its residents, strengthen the basic livelihood protection for vulnerable groups, and actively address poverty blind spots that have remained outside the existing system.
In line with this year's increase in the standard median income used for welfare programs, Goseong County has raised the basic living allowance for recipients from 1,951,287 won to 2,078,316 won per month for a four-person household.
Additionally, while currently 30% of recipients' earned and business income is deducted, with extra deductions applied for youth, seniors, and people with disabilities, this year the county has expanded the eligibility for additional deductions for youth from those aged 29 or younger to those aged 34 or younger, and increased the additional deduction amount from 400,000 won to 600,000 won. This aims to help young people achieve self-reliance through employment.
The criteria for vehicle assets have also been adjusted so that small or smaller vans and trucks that are over 10 years old or valued at less than 5 million won are now subject to the general asset conversion rate, and households with two or more children are recognized as multi-child families.
To further broaden support, the criteria for living allowance recipients' family support obligations have been relaxed. Goseong County plans to provide a total of 42 million won in educational activity support funds, fully funded by the county, to elementary, middle, and high school students from low-income families to help them adapt to school life. Additionally, the county will provide 2.07 million won in entrance preparation funds for new students from low-income households.
Furthermore, the county has secured a budget of 134 million won to support expenses related to childbirth and funerals for basic living allowance recipients, and has allocated a full 120 million won from the county budget to subsidize health insurance premiums for low-income residents, with the aim of ensuring a more dignified life for recipients and vulnerable groups.
Support for self-reliance among low-income groups has also been expanded. If a low-income resident becomes ineligible for benefits by earning an income, they can receive up to 1.5 million won in self-reliance success support funds. A payment of 500,000 won will be provided for maintaining employment for six months, and 1 million won for sustaining employment for one year.
To assist recipients with work capacity in exiting the welfare system, the county has secured a budget of 170 million won in anticipation of high demand for special savings accounts (Hope Savings Account, Youth Tomorrow Savings Account), which provide matched savings ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 won depending on the individual's income and savings. This is intended to help recipients build seed money and exit the welfare system as quickly as possible.
In particular, in response to the annual increase in the elderly population, Goseong County has secured a budget of 910 million won to support medical expenses for low-income seniors and to provide dentures and implants, focusing administrative efforts on maintaining and improving the health of benefit recipients.
In this way, Goseong County is committed to eliminating welfare blind spots and ensuring the basic livelihood of vulnerable groups through a comprehensive range of new systems and diverse policies from the very start of the new year, so that all residents can enjoy robust and abundant welfare benefits.
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