Gwangju City Provides Customized Welfare Jobs for Low-Income Groups

A Total of 48.9 Billion KRW Invested in 16 Self-Support Projects Across 4 Major Areas This Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 10th that it will actively promote various policies to revitalize self-sufficiency projects, including providing customized welfare jobs to more than 3,500 low-income individuals with working ability.

The self-sufficiency project is a program that supports the independence and poverty alleviation of low-income individuals with working ability among recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Security and the near-poverty class by enhancing their working ability, providing jobs, and supporting asset formation.

This year, the city plans to invest 48.9 billion KRW in 16 detailed projects across four major areas: expanding welfare jobs such as self-sufficiency labor projects, strengthening the capabilities of self-sufficiency project participants, expanding sales channels for self-sufficiency products, and supporting asset formation to support the self-sufficiency of low-income groups.

First, 38 billion KRW will be invested in operating 120 self-sufficiency project groups and 46 self-sufficiency enterprises, as well as discovering new self-sufficiency projects, to provide customized welfare jobs to more than 3,500 low-income individuals with working ability.

To ensure stable operation of self-sufficiency project groups, start-ups linked to public institution storefronts or corporate social contribution projects will also be actively supported.

The Gwangsan Regional Self-Sufficiency Center will operate the Hanam Industrial Complex workwear laundry, which opens this month, and the Bitgoeul National Safety Experience Center, scheduled to open in the second half of the year, will have the Buk-gu Hope Self-Sufficiency Center operate its cafeteria and cafe.

The Dong-gu Self-Sufficiency Center, supported by Hite Jinro, is promoting the start-up of the youth self-sufficiency project group’s ‘Bakery Cafe Ppanggre,’ and the food manufacturing project group is supporting facility costs for HACCP certification and providing low-interest rental deposits at 1% per year to project groups needing stores for self-sufficiency project operations.

In addition, to improve awareness of self-sufficiency products and secure various sales channels, promotion of the joint brand ‘Soso Dream’ products will be strengthened through media and social networking systems (SNS), and marketing professionals will be hired at the metropolitan self-sufficiency center to actively support improvements such as packaging enhancement.

Various policies will also be promoted to improve the working ability of self-sufficiency participants.

Support will be actively provided for acquiring certifications and technical training in specialized fields, and case managers assigned to regional self-sufficiency centers will support the establishment of individualized independence plans and link appropriate self-sufficiency programs from the initial consultation and gateway stages.

Furthermore, asset formation projects will be actively promoted to motivate self-sufficiency workers and support the creation of conditions for independence through lump-sum savings.

The youth savings account support, which provides an additional 300,000 KRW per month when near-poverty youth save 100,000 KRW monthly for three years, will expand its target by 200 people from last year to about 600 people, and 5.6 billion KRW will be provided to about 3,200 people for asset formation projects.

Ryu Mi-su, head of the city’s Social Welfare Division, said, “Although there are many difficulties in operating self-sufficiency projects due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we will discover and implement various policies to provide customized welfare jobs and strengthen participant capabilities to support the independence and exit from welfare of low-income individuals with working ability.”

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