Seodaemun-gu Strengthens Comprehensive Welfare Safety Net Amid COVID-19 Crisis

Survey on Living Conditions of 2,629 Middle-Aged and Elderly Single-Person Households with No Income... Promotion of Emergency Welfare Support, Customized Benefit Applications, and Various Private Resource Linkages

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, visiting a single elderly person in May this year to check on their well-being.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) will conduct a survey on the living conditions and welfare needs of middle-aged single-person households with no income from the 15th of this month until the 31st of next month.

Since 2017, the district has conducted the "Survey of Middle-aged Households Living in Housing Vulnerable Areas" annually as a special project, and this year, based on the know-how gained, it has expanded the scope and target of the survey.

The target of this survey, aimed at strengthening the welfare safety net amid the COVID-19 crisis, is 2,629 residents aged 50 to 64 with no income among Seoul's disaster emergency living expense support recipients (those with median income 100% or below).

Until last year, the survey was conducted primarily through visits and face-to-face interviews, but this time, due to COVID-19, welfare officers at 14 community service centers in Seodaemun-gu will check on the residents by phone and investigate their welfare needs.

Upon request from the subjects, visits or consultations at the community service centers will also be conducted concurrently.

The district will use this opportunity to inform residents about the usage period of Seoul's disaster emergency living expenses, which ends on August 31 this year, and to understand their living conditions.

Additionally, if necessary, they plan to provide prompt welfare services through emergency welfare support, application for customized benefits under the Basic Livelihood Security System, integrated case management, home nursing, and linkage with various private resources.

Previously, Seodaemun-gu was the first in the nation to implement "Dong Welfare Hub" in 2013, conducting a full survey of about 55,000 households and discovering and supporting approximately 1,500 households under the catchphrase "We find and help residents who do not come to us!"

From 2016, a full survey was conducted over four years targeting about 5,000 people, including residents of gosiwon (small lodging houses), semi-basement, and rooftop rooms from 2017 to 2019, enabling about 2,400 people to receive welfare support.

Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, stated, "Through this welfare survey, we will actively find and continuously manage and support middle-aged single-person households facing difficulties due to COVID-19."

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