Chungnam, Emergency Household Livelihood Support '1 Million Won for 4-Person Household Standard'

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is stepping up to provide livelihood support for local crisis households.

The province announced that starting from the 12th, it will implement the "Emergency Livelihood Support for Crisis Households" project. The support targets crisis households that fall into the blind spots of existing welfare systems and COVID-19 damage support programs.

Households that have experienced a 25% or more decrease in income due to job loss or business suspension/closure caused by COVID-19, with income at or below 75% of the median income, and household assets meeting the criteria of 350 million KRW or less in medium/small cities and 300 million KRW or less in rural fishing villages, are eligible for support.

The detailed criteria for recognizing crisis households include: ▲ wage earners who can prove an actual decrease in earned income due to job loss, unpaid leave, reduced working days, or wage cuts ▲ business owners who can prove an actual decrease in business income due to suspension/closure or sales decline ▲ unemployed persons who received unemployment benefits after job loss from February 1 but have not found employment since the benefits ended on September 30.

Support amounts vary by household size: ▲ 400,000 KRW for single-person households ▲ 600,000 KRW for two-person households ▲ 800,000 KRW for three-person households ▲ 1,000,000 KRW for households of four or more. After application submission, the province plans to investigate income and assets and disburse the support funds to the applicant’s account between November and December.

However, households that have already received support from existing welfare programs such as Basic Livelihood Security (livelihood benefits), emergency welfare, or COVID-19 emergency support funds like the Emergency Employment Stability Subsidy and Worker Employment Retention Subsidy are excluded from eligibility.

Applications will be accepted both online and on-site. Online applications can be made by the head of household through the Bokjiro website starting from the 12th, while on-site applications can be submitted from the 19th by the head of household, household members, or representatives at the administrative welfare centers located in the applicant’s town, township, or neighborhood office. The application deadline is the 30th for both online and on-site submissions.

For more detailed information, applicants can inquire at the city/county offices or administrative welfare centers in their jurisdiction.

A provincial official stated, “The province and city/county offices will jointly operate a dedicated team to swiftly implement the project and minimize inconvenience to applicants. We hope this support will provide some relief to low-income households facing hardship due to COVID-19.”

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