Gwangju City Launches Initiative to Develop Support Policies for Single-Person Households

Operation of a 14-Member T/F Team Including Public Officials and Experts

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City is set to develop support policies for the continuously increasing number of single-person households.

On the 17th, Gwangju announced that it will form and operate a ‘Single-Person Household Support Task Force (T/F)’ consisting of 14 members, including public officials from six departments responsible for youth, elderly, and other sectors, as well as experts from four organizations such as the Women and Family Foundation.

As of the end of 2020, single-person households in the Gwangju area accounted for 32.4% (193,948 households), more than doubling compared to 14.7% (60,207 households) in 2000. The trend shows an annual increase.

As living alone becomes increasingly common, local governments are required to prepare responses to issues such as housing vulnerability, care gaps, and social isolation.

The city plans to hold its first meeting on the 18th to share the current status of single-person households and projects promoted by each department and organization, and to exchange opinions on problems and solutions experienced by those living alone.

Furthermore, the task force will view issues from the perspectives of various groups including youth, elderly, middle-aged, and women, and prepare sector-specific measures tailored to policy demands such as housing support, care support, prevention of solitary deaths, and social network support, while discovering and promoting policy tasks.

Meanwhile, Gwangju established an ordinance supporting single-person households in October 2019 and conducted a survey on the status of single-person households in 2020 to establish a basic plan.

The city has built a support system by annually establishing and implementing support plans for single-person households.

This year, major projects targeting single-person households by sector include ▲ ‘Temporary Special Support for Youth Monthly Rent’ (5.3 billion KRW) and ‘Green Remodeling of Rental Housing for Single-Person Households’ (19.5 billion KRW) to address the highest policy demand for housing support ▲ ‘Support for Vulnerable Households to Prevent Crimes Against Women’ to enhance the safety of female single-person households ▲ and various program operations and club activity support to prevent isolation and foster social networks among single-person households.

Choi Sun-young, head of the Women and Family Division of the city, said, “Single-person households have now become a representative family type,” adding, “We will strive to discover policies and prepare support measures in cooperation with related organizations for a confident and happy life.”

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