Sejong City Extends Emergency Support Program for Vulnerable Households 'Even If Received, Again'

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Sejong City will extend the emergency welfare support program period, which was temporarily relaxed and implemented until the end of last year, until March.

According to the city on the 8th, emergency welfare support is the last social safety net that temporarily supports low-income households who have difficulty maintaining their livelihood when the main income earner of the household faces sudden crises such as death, unemployment, or illness.

Until now, beneficiaries could not receive support again within two years for the same crisis reason or the same illness. However, until March this year, the criteria have been relaxed to allow re-support from three months after receiving support.

Additionally, the property standard was raised from 118 million KRW to 200 million KRW by applying the standard for small and medium-sized cities, and the deduction rate for living preparation funds, which are subtracted as daily living maintenance costs, was expanded from 65% to 150% of the median income, thereby broadening the scope of eligible beneficiaries.

If selected as an emergency welfare support beneficiary, a four-person household will receive 1,266,000 KRW for livelihood support and 422,000 KRW for housing support.

In addition, medical support is provided up to 3 million KRW, and additional benefits include education expenses, fuel costs, childbirth, and funeral expenses.

However, emergency welfare support benefits cannot be received if the applicant is already receiving similar government support funds such as emergency employment stabilization funds, small business owner support funds, or basic livelihood benefits.

Last year, the city supported a total of 1.3 billion KRW to 620 low-income households struggling with livelihood difficulties due to COVID-19.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City, said, “We will actively identify and support households in crisis who suddenly lost their jobs and are struggling to maintain their livelihood due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,” and added, “If there are neighbors in difficulty around you, please take an interest and apply at the local eup, myeon, or dong office.”

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