What Are the Details of Gangdong-gu's 'Single-Person Household Policy'?

Promotion of 44 Projects in 6 Areas Including Housing, Safety, Health, Economy, Systems, and Culture

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangdong-gu (Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon) has announced the ‘Single-Person Household Policy Implementation Plan’ and is set to actively support single-person households.

The plan aims to strengthen the self-reliance foundation and support a stable life for single-person households by preparing customized policies for the rapidly increasing number of single-person households.

As of 2018, single-person households in South Korea numbered 5,788,000, accounting for 29.2% of all household types. By 2035, this is expected to rise to 34.6%, ranking second among OECD member countries after Japan.

In Gangdong-gu, the number of single-person households increased significantly from 14,649 in 1995 to 42,126 in 2018, about 2.8 times over roughly ten years, with single-person households making up the highest proportion at 26.5% of all household types.

With the rapid increase in single-person households, various social issues such as solitary deaths and poverty have risen, increasing the need for policies tailored to the characteristics of single-person households.

Accordingly, Gangdong-gu has prepared the ‘Single-Person Household Policy Implementation Plan’ and will promote 44 projects across six key areas: housing/environment, safety, health, economy, systems/welfare, and culture/social integration.

First, a comprehensive policy task force for single-person households involving 18 departments has been formed to strengthen interdepartmental cooperation and enable effective project implementation.

Additionally, a policy network including single-person household members and experts from various fields will be established to reflect diverse resident opinions in the policies and their implementation.

Specifically, support for housing and environment will be provided through improving living conditions for elderly living alone and disabled persons, installing fire safety equipment in goshiwon (small lodging rooms), and supplying youth housing. Safety and health will be addressed by conducting solitary death prevention monitoring, caring for elderly living alone using IoT (Internet of Things), operating mental health counseling centers, and offering solo dining cooking classes.

Furthermore, job support will be strengthened through operating the ‘Youth Haenaem Center,’ a support space for youth startups, and the ‘Gangdong Senior Club,’ a dedicated organization for senior jobs. A booklet containing practical life knowledge will be produced and distributed to ensure no single-person household misses out on benefits due to lack of information.

Efforts will also be made to restore social networks for single-person households. Community formation programs for various single-person households such as goshiwon residents, disabled persons, elderly living alone, and youth households will be operated to alleviate social isolation and enhance self-help functions.

Lee Jeong-hoon, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, stated, “I believe social interest and support for single-person households, who are facing even greater difficulties due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), are more necessary than ever. We will promote policies reflecting the characteristics of single-person households from multiple angles to create a happier and healthier community together.”

Meanwhile, Gangdong-gu is promoting the establishment of a ‘Single-Person Household Support Center’ to intensively implement policies and support for single-person households, including social network formation, care support, and provision of community spaces.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.