Seoul City Designates 58 'Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals'... Expanding Medical Support for Pets of Vulnerable Groups

Basic health checkups, vaccinations, and heartworm medication support at 58 local animal hospitals
Additional support for treatment costs of diseases found during essential care and neutering surgery fees from this year... up to 200,000 KRW

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is expanding the number of Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals from 40 to 58 locations and extending the coverage to up to two pets per household, starting from the 14th.

The Seoul city’s "Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital" project is a pledge by Mayor Oh Se-hoon to reduce the burden and enhance the welfare of companion animals by supporting essential veterinary services such as basic health checkups, mandatory vaccinations, and heartworm prevention medication, thereby strengthening welfare for vulnerable groups. This year, Seoul will additionally support treatment costs for diseases discovered during checkups and neutering surgery fees within 200,000 KRW, on top of the existing essential treatments. The support scope has also been expanded from one pet per household to two, aiming to support up to 1,500 pets.

Seoul first implemented the Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital project in the second half of last year, supporting a total of 291 companion animals of vulnerable groups. This year, in cooperation with 17 participating districts, the support scope and scale have been expanded, and the number of designated Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals will increase from 40 to 58 locations.

The support targets are basic livelihood security recipients and near-poverty groups who are registered residents in participating districts and own dogs or cats. They can receive treatment by visiting the Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital with their companion animals.

The support items include essential and optional treatments. For essential treatments, animal owners pay a consultation fee of 5,000 KRW per visit (up to 10,000 KRW), and for optional treatments, they only pay the amount exceeding 200,000 KRW. Costs excluding the owner’s share are supported by Seoul city and the districts, and are provided through talent donations from Our Neighborhood Animal Hospitals.

Park Yu-mi, Director of the Seoul Citizen Health Bureau, said, “By expanding the Our Neighborhood Animal Hospital project, we will reduce the burden on vulnerable groups and support them to enjoy a healthy life with their companion animals.” She added, “Seoul will continue to expand the scale of support and increase the number of designated animal hospitals to strengthen animal welfare and improve welfare for vulnerable groups.”

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