Gyeonggi-do Operates 'Welfare Recipient Discount Application Intensive Period'

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will accept "focused applications for welfare recipients' communication fee and other bill reductions" throughout July.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 2nd that welfare recipients can receive reductions on five major utility bills including electricity charges, but some do not receive benefits due to lack of awareness of the system, so the province decided to provide policy guidance and application linkage.

Basic pension recipients, persons with disabilities, basic livelihood security recipients, and near-poverty class can receive reductions on five major utility bills (mobile communication, electricity, city gas, television license fee, and district heating).

For example, basic livelihood security recipients (living and medical) can receive a monthly reduction of 26,000 KRW on mobile communication fees (an additional 50% reduction on call charges is possible), with the maximum reduction amount on the five major utility bills reaching up to 90,000 KRW per month.

However, the reduction amount varies depending on eligibility, and the reduction system differs by bill type, so some recipients do not know the exact reduction amount they are entitled to.

Last year, among approximately 1.717 million eligible mobile communication fee reduction recipients in the province, 37.8% (about 648,000 people) did not receive reductions.

Accordingly, the province and city/county governments operated the first "focused application period for bill reductions" from December last year to February this year, and plan to once again provide policy guidance and assist applications for welfare recipients in July.

Eup, myeon, and dong administrative welfare centers will identify eligible recipients and contact them individually, and will also handle bill reduction applications for new welfare benefit applicants to minimize those missing out on benefits.

Applications for reductions can be made year-round at eup, myeon, and dong administrative welfare centers, the Bokjiro website (online.bokjiro.go.kr), or individual reduction agencies.

New welfare benefit applicants can apply for bill reductions simultaneously when applying for welfare benefits at administrative welfare centers.

Meanwhile, since March this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Social Security Information System allows quick verification of whether basic pension recipients have received utility bill reductions.

The mobile communication fee reduction system for basic pension recipients was introduced in 2018, but related lists were not included in the Social Security Information System, making system utilization impossible. The province proposed improvements to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which accepted and agreed to provide related lists periodically. Since March, it has become possible to check basic pension recipients who have not received mobile communication fee reductions.

Ji Joo-yeon, head of the Welfare Project Division of the province, emphasized, "We expect an expansion of welfare benefits for low-income groups in the province through this focused application period," and added, "The province will continue to do its best to thoroughly manage the complex and diverse welfare systems."

The province operated the focused application period from December last year to February this year, during which eup, myeon, and dong administrative welfare centers newly applied for a total of 94,631 bill reductions for 80,669 non-reduction recipients. Including applications made directly by individuals through the Bokjiro website or telecommunication companies and other reduction agencies, the total number of applications is expected to be even higher.

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