Gwangju City Provides Temporary Livelihood Support Funds to Low-Income Crisis Households

50,000 KRW per Household Provided... Other COVID-19 Aid Recipients Excluded

Online Applications Start from the 10th, On-site at Administrative Welfare Centers from the 17th... Payments in June

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 2nd that it will provide a one-time living support fund of 500,000 won to low-income crisis households whose income has decreased due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic but have not received damage support.

The recipients are households that include members whose income from January to May this year has decreased compared to 2019 or 2020, with income below 75% of the median income as of the 1st of last month (approximately 3.65 million won per month for a family of four) and assets below 600 million won. Financial assets and debts are not separately checked or applied.

Recipients of basic livelihood security (living allowance), emergency welfare (living support), and other COVID-19 damage support programs (▲Emergency Employment Stability Support ▲General Taxi Driver Emergency Employment Stability Fund ▲Home Care Worker Living Support ▲Butimok Plus Fund ▲Income Stabilization Fund ▲Damage Agricultural Worker Support ▲Damage Fishery Worker Support ▲Damage Forestry Worker Support ▲Charter Bus Driver Income Stabilization Fund, etc., disaster relief funds for 2021) are excluded from support.

However, university students receiving work-study scholarships supported by the Ministry of Education, which are considered wages for labor, can receive the one-time living support fund concurrently.

Gwangju expects about 28,000 households to be eligible for the one-time living support fund based on a preliminary demand survey.

Applications for the support fund can be made online or by visiting in person. Online applications can be submitted from the 10th to the 28th via the Bokjiro website or mobile access.

Online applications are only available to the head of the household and operate on an odd-even system based on the last digit of the birth year.

On-site applications can be submitted by visiting the administrative welfare center of the resident address from the 17th to the 4th of next month, and applications by the head of household, household members, or representatives are all accepted.

The city plans to verify income, assets, and duplication with other programs and pay the support fund in cash to the applicant’s account by the end of next month. The payment amount is 500,000 won per household, regardless of the number of household members, paid once.

However, those receiving a management support voucher (300,000 won) for small-scale farms (including fishery and forestry workers) who are selected for the one-time living support fund will receive the difference of 200,000 won.

Gwangju is preparing by forming dedicated collaboration teams (TF) by the city and autonomous districts to ensure citizens can apply for the support fund without inconvenience and receive payments promptly. They plan to ensure all eligible recipients receive support through active online and offline promotion, including producing their own promotional videos and card news.

Kim Jong-hyo, Deputy Mayor for Administration, said, “We hope this one-time living support fund will help low-income households left in blind spots who are struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and income reduction but have not received other support.” He added, “We ask citizens visiting administrative welfare centers for on-site applications to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention guidelines.”

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