Expansion of Beneficiaries for Incheon-style Welfare System... Eliminating Blind Spots of Poverty

Relaxation of Selection Criteria for 'SOS Emergency Welfare' and 'Didimdol Stable Income'

Incheon City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City is expanding the scope of beneficiaries for Incheon-style social welfare programs such as 'SOS Emergency Welfare' and 'Didimdol Stable Income' to eliminate blind spots in poverty.

On the 12th, the city announced that it will actively promote the 'Citizen Safety Welfare Project,' which significantly relaxes the selection criteria for households experiencing crises that do not meet government support standards and low-income poverty households.

First, for SOS Emergency Welfare, the property standard will be relaxed from under 188 million KRW to under 300 million KRW.

This system supports households facing sudden crises such as unemployment, illness, or death of the main income earner, making it difficult to maintain their livelihood, by providing necessary welfare services within 72 hours to help them overcome the crisis.

For eligible households, support includes living expenses of 1,304,900 KRW for a four-person household, medical expenses up to 3 million KRW per person, and housing expenses up to 643,200 KRW for a four-person household. Education expenses are also supported.

The Didimdol Stable Income program, which supports poverty-stricken households that do not meet the selection criteria of the National Basic Livelihood Security System, has expanded its support range from 40% to 50% of the median income.

If selected as an eligible household, support includes living expenses of 768,160 KRW for a four-person household, 700,000 KRW for childbirth, and 800,000 KRW in case of death.

Applications for SOS Emergency Welfare and Didimdol Stable Income can be made at the district or county offices and the eup, myeon, or dong administrative welfare centers responsible for the applicant's address.

Meanwhile, as of the end of last year, the number of basic livelihood security recipients in the Incheon area was about 160,000, a 12% increase compared to 2020, and the number of emergency welfare support cases also increased by about 13% to approximately 400 cases.

The city stated that due to prolonged COVID-19-related unemployment and illness, along with recent rapid inflation, the number of low-income households in crisis is increasing nationwide.

An Incheon city official said, "We will also strive to strengthen the capacity of citizen-led welfare communities by revitalizing the operation of community social security councils at the dong level to actively identify and support single-person households in financial difficulty and welfare-vulnerable households."

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