Seocho-gu, First in Seoul to Provide Monthly Welfare Allowance of 70,000 Won to Spouses of War Veterans

Following the establishment of welfare allowances, the ordinance was amended in December and a related budget of 156.24 million KRW was allocated... Spouses of veterans can apply in person at the local community center or through a proxy.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seocho-gu has established the welfare allowance for spouses of veterans for the first time in Seoul to honor the veterans who sacrificed and contributed to the nation and to show respect to the families of veterans.

Until now, unlike other national merit recipients’ families, the families of veterans did not have a legal system for designation and succession of survivors, so when the veteran passed away, various supports were discontinued, raising issues of fairness in receiving support and respect.

Accordingly, the district revised the “Ordinance on the Respect and Support for National Veterans” last year to improve the respect and welfare for the families of veterans who devoted themselves to the country, secured a related budget of 156.24 million KRW, and announced that payments will begin this month.

The support target is the spouse of a deceased veteran residing in Seocho-gu, and 70,000 KRW per month will be paid at the end of each month starting from the month of application. However, recipients of the Seocho-gu veterans’ respect allowance are excluded from this payment.

Applications can be made by visiting the local community service center with supporting documents such as the veteran’s certificate, family relation certificate, resident registration abstract, and a copy of the bankbook. In case of proxy application, the ID cards of both the applicant and the proxy, family relation certificate, and power of attorney must be additionally submitted.

The district has continuously strengthened policies for national veterans. It abolished the residency period condition (at least one year) for the Seocho-gu veterans’ respect allowance to relax the criteria and added the May 18 Democratic Merit recipients under the “Act on the Honoring of May 18 Democratic Merit” to the national veterans.

Additionally, the district has expanded the eligibility for death consolation money, which was previously paid only to veterans who had lived in Seocho-gu for more than one year before death, to all national veterans, and is discovering and implementing various policies to respect and support national veterans.

A district official said, “We have put a lot of thought into preparing more special respect policies for the families of veterans who personally devoted themselves to the nation,” and added, “We will continue to expand support to honor the veterans’ dignity.”

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