‘From Childcare to Elderly Care’ Gwangju Social Service Center Opening Ceremony Held

Moon Jae-in Government's National Tasks and Gwangju-type Welfare Innovation Model... First Established Nationwide This Year

Operating Public Childcare Centers and Comprehensive Home Care Centers... Providing Integrated Life Care Services

May

On the afternoon of the 14th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, participated in a card section with Park Neung-hoo, Minister of Health and Welfare, Kim Yong-jip, Chairman of the Gwangju City Council, Jo Ho-kwon, Director of the Gwangju Social Service Center, and attendees from local welfare organizations and groups at the opening ceremony of the Gwangju Social Service Center held in the Citizens' Hall on the first floor of City Hall. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The ‘Gwangju Social Service Institute’ has begun full-scale activities with its opening.

The ‘Gwangju Social Service Institute’ is a welfare innovation model that strengthens the public responsibility of social services by providing integrated lifelong care services from childcare to nursing care.

On the afternoon of the 14th, Gwangju Metropolitan City held an opening ceremony for the Gwangju Social Service Institute at the City Hall Citizen Hall and decided to enhance the publicness and transparency of social services as well as the quality of jobs for service workers.

The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor Lee Yong-seop, Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo, Chairman of Gwangju City Council Kim Yong-jip, local welfare organizations and groups, and citizens. The event proceeded in the order of guest introductions, promotional video screening, opening remarks, commemorative speeches and congratulatory speeches, congratulatory performances, delivery of the Gwangju Social Service Institute flag, and commemorative photo session.

The Gwangju Social Service Institute is a public institution established by Gwangju City that operates national and public social welfare facilities directly, installs comprehensive home care centers and provides home care services, and promotes support projects for private social service providers.

Through the Social Service Institute, Gwangju City plans to directly provide social services and directly hire workers to enhance the publicness and transparency of social services. In addition, it will support private institutions in facility inspections and service quality improvements to foster coexistence between the public and private sectors and provide high-quality social services to citizens.

The establishment of the Social Service Institute was a national agenda of the Moon Jae-in administration and promoted as a Gwangju-type welfare innovation model.

Since September 2018, Gwangju City prepared for the establishment by forming a public-private consultative body called the Social Service Institute Establishment Promotion Advisory Group (TF), and from July last year, it collected stakeholder opinions through over 30 sessions including feasibility studies, policy forums, public hearings, and welfare sector meetings.

In February, the Social Service Institute Establishment Promotion Committee was launched, and the establishment proceeded through collaboration among the public, private, and government sectors from the preparation stage. As a result, on June 2nd, it received corporate establishment approval from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and was the first among pilot cities and provinces to establish the Social Service Institute this year.

The Gwangju Social Service Institute operates national and public social welfare facilities such as national and public daycare centers, homeless comprehensive support centers, and elderly nursing facilities. Next month, it plans to install two comprehensive home care centers in Seo-gu and Buk-gu to provide integrated services such as visiting nursing, elderly care, and housekeeping care.

Through this, it provides integrated lifelong care services from childcare to nursing care.

In particular, since the completion of corporate establishment in July amid the COVID-19 crisis causing care gaps, the Gwangju Social Service Institute has been supporting emergency care services for children and the elderly, fulfilling its role as a public service provider.

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo said, “The Gwangju Social Service Institute proactively responded by forming an emergency care support team to minimize care gaps even in situations exposed to the risk of COVID-19 infection,” and expressed gratitude to the frontline care workers who live and care together with the beneficiaries.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop stated in his commemorative speech, “The Social Service Institute is a national project initiated by President Moon Jae-in’s special will for the government to take responsibility for social welfare services that have been handled by the private sector,” and added, “Our city will take this opportunity of the opening of the Gwangju Social Service Institute to fulfill responsibilities and roles for the socially vulnerable more faithfully and do our best so that all citizens can enjoy a happy life.”

He continued, “We will realize ‘Gwangju, a good place to have and raise children,’ so that the laughter of children can be heard here and there, and on the other hand, we will expand and strengthen care services for those in need to create a warm and vibrant welfare community.”

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