Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member Kim Taegyun, Leading Proposal to Prevent Solitary Deaths of Elderly Living Alone

Kim Tae-gyun, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeollanam-do Provincial Council announced on the 21st that the ordinance titled “Jeollanam-do Ordinance on the Prevention of Solitary Deaths among Elderly Living Alone and the Realization of Social Families,” which was proposed by Representative Kim Tae-gyun (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangyang 2), was approved as originally proposed.

This amendment was proposed to contribute to ensuring a stable old age by providing customized welfare services for elderly people living alone and establishing a social safety net, in response to the rapid increase in single elderly households due to aging and nuclear families.

The ordinance defines elderly living alone as those aged 65 or older who live alone without a caregiver or who have a caregiver but receive no assistance.

The main contents include changing the title to “Jeollanam-do Ordinance on the Protection and Support of Elderly Living Alone,” mandating the establishment and implementation of support plans for elderly living alone every five years, and specifying support for elderly care projects and social safety net construction projects.

In particular, reflecting negative opinions from residents regarding the existing name of the group operating to prevent and support solitary deaths in single-person households, the name “Solitary Death Guardians” has been changed to “Senior Guardians.”

Representative Kim Tae-gyun said, “This ordinance was proposed to strengthen support policies for approximately 104,000 low-income vulnerable elderly single-person households aged 65 or older in the province.”

He added, “Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, elderly living alone and vulnerable seniors have been found to live in poor conditions in all areas including economic situation, leisure, and social activities. I hope that interest in these individuals will increase and financial support will expand as a measure to prevent the recently increasing solitary deaths.”

This ordinance is scheduled to be approved at the 5th plenary session of the 351st extraordinary meeting to be held on the 30th.

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