Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-mu and Four Special Mayors Meet with Minister of Health and Welfare at the National Assembly

Strong Request to Raise Social Welfare Benefit Standards in Special Cities

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] On the 29th, Mayor Heo Seong-mu met with Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's main conference room, along with Mayor Lee Jae-jun of Goyang, Mayor Yeom Tae-young of Suwon, and Mayor Baek Gun-gi of Yongin.

They jointly requested that the deduction criteria for the basic property amount applied to social welfare benefits in the four special cities of Changwon, Goyang, Suwon, and Yongin, scheduled to launch in January next year, be raised from the current small and medium-sized city standards to metropolitan city standards.

The meeting was also attended by National Assembly members Kang Ki-yoon of Changwon and Jeong Chun-sook of Yongin, who supported persuading the Ministry of Health and Welfare to resolve the reverse discrimination in social welfare benefits that 4.5 million special city residents have experienced.

Currently, despite the four special cities including Changwon having living conditions similar to metropolitan cities such as Ulsan, they have been subject to the 'small and medium-sized city standards' applied to general cities with populations of 50,000, leading to criticism of reverse discrimination.

As a result, under current law, the basic property amount deducted when calculating social welfare benefits is determined by a notice from the Minister of Health and Welfare, making the Ministry's willingness to improve the system crucial.

Mayor Heo Seong-mu repeatedly urged Minister Kwon Deok-cheol, saying, "Universal welfare services such as national basic and basic pensions should not be subject to unreasonable discrimination based on the region of residence," and added, "I hope you will actively cooperate in revising the Ministry of Health and Welfare's notice as the first step toward eliminating welfare blind spots and realizing universal welfare."

Meanwhile, after the meeting with the Minister of Health and Welfare, Changwon City separately visited the office of National Assembly member Kang Ki-yoon to propose amendments to the 'National Basic Livelihood Security Act' and the 'Health and Environment Research Institute Act' for the establishment of an independent Health and Environment Research Institute.

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