President Moon: "Elderly COVID-19 Patients Watched 24 Hours in Protective Suits"

President Moon Encourages Social Service Workers... "Essential Community Workers Must Be Protected by the State"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] “Face-to-face services such as caregiving are essential labor that cannot be absent in maintaining the community even in emergencies like COVID-19.”

President Moon Jae-in said this on the 8th at the ‘Social Service Workers Video Meeting’ held at the Blue House. President Moon emphasized, “Essential workers who perform face-to-face activities necessary for the community and inevitably expose themselves to risks must receive special protection from the state.”

The event was organized to encourage the efforts of those who must engage in face-to-face activities for the normal operation of our society during the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation, especially social welfare workers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon mentioned the stories of those who tried to fulfill their roles when the COVID-19 issue worsened in Daegu. He emphasized, “Last March, when Daegu was the epicenter of the COVID crisis, ‘Social Service Workers’ cared for disabled people and children who experienced caregiving gaps and stayed by the side of elderly patients diagnosed with COVID-19, wearing protective suits 24 hours a day.”

At the event, experiences and suggestions from social service workers were also introduced. Oh Dae-hee, a disability activity support worker at Seongdong Home Care Center, said, “In the COVID disaster era, for disabled people, self-quarantine is a scarier word than COVID diagnosis,” and emphasized, “At a time when the role and sense of mission of caregiving institution workers are becoming increasingly important, the most helpful thing is the hands of essential workers.”

The Social Service Center was established to improve problems related to private-sector-centered caregiving activities. Joo Jin-woo, director of the Seoul Social Service Center, explained, “The Social Service Center is an institution established as a government national agenda to improve the quality of jobs for caregiving workers and strengthen the public nature of social services by directly operating social services such as caregiving, which have relied on the private sector, and to enhance the overall quality of social services.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Kyung-ja, a care worker at Songpa Home Care Center, said, “In private institutions, since payment is hourly, most of the time when there is a gap in helping the elderly, wages are not properly paid,” and added, “Because I work as a regular employee as a caregiving worker, I am receiving my salary well even in the current COVID era.”

Kim Se-jin, a nurse at Seongdong Home Care Center, said, “The Seoul Social Service Center’s visiting nursing service is only available in Seongdong-gu. We are visiting all over Seoul, including Yangcheon-gu, Gangseo-gu, and Nowon-gu,” and suggested, “I hope visiting nursing services are divided by regions in Seoul.”

President Moon said, “Social welfare workers are the ones who bring warmth to our society,” and added, “Because of your dedication, we can rely on our neighbors and have trust in the state in our daily lives. I always support you with gratitude.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In his closing remarks at the event, President Moon said, “I am grateful for the sacrifice and dedication of essential workers who maintain a non-face-to-face society during the COVID-19 situation. Thanks to their efforts, vulnerable groups have been able to overcome the crisis safely,” and evaluated, “Essential workers have not been highly regarded socially until now, but their value has been re-evaluated through experiencing COVID-19, which is a great gain.”

President Moon pledged, “This should lead to improved treatment for essential workers and the expansion of the social safety net. Although our country has succeeded in democracy and is recognized globally for its economy, universal provision of welfare social services is still far from sufficient. The government will strive to lead the country as a welfare powerhouse with the Social Service Center at the core.”

Meanwhile, the event was held via video conference, with Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Han Jeong-ae, chair of the Policy Committee, and Nam In-soon attending in person. Jung Won-oh, mayor of Seongdong-gu, Seoul, and social service workers from Seoul, Daegu, Gyeongnam, and Gyeonggi participated via video conference. At the Blue House, Chief Secretary Noh Young-min and Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Yoon Chang-ryeol were present.

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