Gwangju City Increases Emergency Welfare Livelihood Support Fund for Low-Income Households

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 30th that, to stabilize the living conditions of low-income households, it will raise the emergency welfare living support payment rates starting from the 1st of next month and temporarily relax the property and financial asset criteria until the end of this year.

The living support payment rates to be increased this time (differentiated by household size) will be expanded from the current standard median income level of 26% to 30% to stabilize the living conditions of low-income households strongly affected by high oil prices and inflation.

Accordingly, the living support payment for a single-person household will increase from the existing 488,800 KRW to 583,400 KRW, and for a four-person household, it will increase from 1,304,900 KRW to 1,536,300 KRW.

In particular, a new "residential property deduction limit" will be established for one primary residence that is difficult to liquidate under the property criteria, allowing a maximum deduction of 69 million KRW, thereby raising the general property standard amount eligible for emergency welfare living support payments.

The financial asset criteria will also be temporarily relaxed until the end of this year by expanding the living preparation fund deduction rate from the existing 65% to 100%, deducting 1.94 million KRW for a single-person basis, among other measures.

However, the emergency welfare support system is a last social safety net temporarily provided only to low-income households facing sudden crisis situations and struggling to maintain their livelihood. Those currently receiving support under other laws such as livelihood benefits or unemployment benefits are excluded from emergency welfare support eligibility.

Meanwhile, Gwangju City has additionally secured 8.5 billion KRW in national funds to expand emergency welfare support, including raising living support payments and relaxing property criteria in the second half of the year.

Ryu Misu, head of the Social Welfare Division of the city, said, “We hope that the increase in emergency welfare living support payments and the relaxation of support criteria will help low-income households experiencing economic difficulties,” and added, “We will continue to actively identify and support households in crisis and strive to eliminate welfare blind spots.”

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