Ulsan Sees 10% Increase in Beneficiaries Following Expansion of the 'Basic Security System'

Ulsan City Eases Eligibility Criteria for Basic Livelihood Security Recipients This Year
Number of Recipients in May Increased by 2,825 from January to 29,614

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Due to the expansion of the government’s Basic Livelihood Security System, the number of Basic Livelihood Security recipients in Ulsan City increased by about 10% in five months.

Ulsan City announced on the 20th that as of the end of May this year, the number of Basic Livelihood Security recipients was 29,614, an increase of 2,825 (10.5%) from 26,789 in January.

This is analyzed as a result of the government’s policy to eliminate welfare blind spots, reducing the number of people who do not receive Basic Livelihood Security benefits.

Regarding the main expansions of the Basic Livelihood Security System, first, the criteria for obligated supporters of households receiving livelihood and medical benefits were relaxed.

This does not apply to households with severely disabled recipients, and the support cost, which was previously imposed up to 30% of the recognized income depending on the conditions of the obligated supporter’s household, was lowered to 10%.

Also, the basic property deduction amount was expanded from 54 million won to 69 million won, and a new system was introduced that reflects only 70% of earned income from work or business for livelihood and medical benefit recipients aged 25 to 64, deducting 30%.

Accordingly, 411 people who had difficulty being classified as Basic Livelihood recipients due to the obligated supporter criteria were newly included as livelihood and medical benefit recipients. Among Basic Livelihood recipients, the number of disabled persons also increased by 292.

In addition, as of May this year, the average recognized income of Basic Livelihood recipients in Ulsan City was 486,379 won, an increase of 27,814 won compared to January, and earned income also increased by 50,284 won to 816,919 won.

Ultimately, the cause of the increase in ‘recipients’ is due to the introduction of the 30% income deduction system and the increase in the basic property amount, which led to the inclusion of the near-poor class with a certain amount of income into Basic Livelihood recipients.

Ulsan City has decided to prepare for a further increase in Basic Livelihood recipients due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, job losses, and economic recession.

In addition to the prompt support of Basic Livelihood benefits, administrative efforts will be focused on public support such as emergency welfare assistance and visiting health and welfare services. The city plans to quickly respond to overcome the crisis and maintain a stable life by discovering private resources such as neighborly help and cooperation support with medical institutions.

An official from Ulsan City said, “Citizens who are experiencing difficulties due to job loss and income reduction are encouraged to check their eligibility for Basic Livelihood Security benefits at their local eup, myeon, or dong offices and utilize the expanded Basic Livelihood Security system.”

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