Goheung-gun Actively Identifies Vulnerable Groups Eligible for Electricity and Communication Fee Discounts

Increase Benefit Rate with One-Stop Service for Easy Application in a Single Visit

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do announced on the 28th that it has started identifying eligible recipients who have been overlooked in the low-income electricity and telecommunications fee reduction system.

Since April 2015, Goheung-gun has been acting on behalf of socially vulnerable groups (basic livelihood security recipients, near-poverty groups, and persons with disabilities) to apply for fee reductions for their convenience.

To this end, the county individually notified 2,045 eligible recipients who have not yet received benefits due to reasons such as new registration or changes in household head, implementing thorough welfare administration without omissions.

The services eligible for fee reductions include electricity bills, mobile communication fees, TV license fees, and city gas fees. Depending on the group, livelihood and medical aid recipients and persons with severe disabilities can receive up to 16,000 KRW per month in electricity bill reductions.

Housing and education aid recipients can receive up to 10,000 KRW per month, and near-poverty groups up to 8,000 KRW. During the summer, when usage is high, the reduction limits are raised to provide support of up to 20,000 KRW, 12,000 KRW, and 10,000 KRW per month, respectively.

For mobile communication fees, basic livelihood security recipients can receive discounts ranging from 21,500 KRW to 33,500 KRW per month, and registered persons with disabilities receive a 35% reduction on basic and call charges.

Recipients of the basic pension aged 65 or older also receive a 50% reduction on basic and call charges, benefiting from discounts of up to 11,000 KRW per month.

Livelihood and medical aid recipients and persons with visual and hearing impairments are exempt from TV license fees, and city gas fees can be reduced by up to 26,000 KRW depending on eligibility.

Eligible recipients should bring their ID and billing statement to the local town or township office to apply collectively.

By integrating procedures scattered across individual institutions, this system reduces the hassle of applying directly to each fee reduction agency such as Korea Electric Power Corporation and mobile carrier agencies, eliminates duplicate document submissions, and also allows internet applications through the Welfare Road portal.

To ensure smooth service linkage and prevent omissions for fee reduction recipients, consent for proxy application for fee reduction is obtained in advance along with the social security benefit application at the qualification application stage, simplifying the process so that recipients do not need to revisit the town or township office after being designated as recipients to receive benefits.

A county official stated, “Among the identified eligible applicants, about 700 new applicants have received fee reduction benefits so far, easing household burdens,” and added, “We will contribute to stabilizing residents’ lives and improving satisfaction with welfare services through active promotion and guidance to ensure welfare benefits are not only received after inquiries.”

Meanwhile, Goheung-gun plans to implement a ‘Visiting Welfare Service Guide’ where social welfare officials visit households of vulnerable groups who have difficulty using the internet, elderly and disabled persons with mobility issues, to provide consultation and proxy application for fee reductions, aiming to continuously improve the benefit rate of fee reductions.

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