Gangnam-gu to Conduct Intensive Investigation of Welfare Blind Spots Until October to Identify At-Risk Households

Special Task Force Team · 24-Hour Dream Call Operation... Rapid Connection of Customized Welfare for Identifying At-Risk Households

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Seongmyeong Jo) will implement special measures to support the discovery of welfare blind spots until October. A ‘Special Measures TF Team’ has been formed to conduct a focused investigation on households in crisis within welfare blind spots, and a 24-hour crisis household hotline called ‘Dream Call’ will be operated to make every effort to identify households in crisis.

On the 7th, the district formed the ‘Special Measures T/F Team for Discovering and Supporting Welfare Blind Spots,’ consisting of 19 teams from 6 departments including the Welfare Policy Division, led by the Deputy District Mayor. The team will focus on identifying households in crisis and preparing support measures. Additionally, a close cooperation system will be established with eight external community institutions, including the police station.

Accordingly, the district will conduct a focused investigation to identify households in crisis until October. A total of 5,059 households living in vulnerable environments such as semi-basements, rooftop rooms, and goshiwons, as well as those confirmed to have overdue health insurance premiums or excessive medical expenses, will be intensively surveyed regarding their economic activity status, health condition, and living circumstances. If the household is absent, more than three direct visits will be made, along with indirect investigations through community leaders and landlords.

In particular, to find secluded households in crisis that are not registered in the resident registration system, like the Suwon three mothers case, specially produced ‘door-hanger flyers’ will be distributed to low-income concentrated areas and vulnerable housing such as semi-basements.

Households in crisis identified through the investigation will be promptly provided with customized welfare services such as emergency support, care services, and case management. For those not registered in the resident registration system, cooperation will be requested from the registration authorities to ensure they can receive welfare services. The reasons for not registering will be identified, and if there are debt issues, active linkage with organizations such as the Credit Recovery Committee will be pursued to manage households in crisis.

Furthermore, a dedicated call line for supporting households in crisis, ‘Dream Call,’ will be operated. Although the district operates the KakaoTalk channel ‘Gangnam Good Neighbor’ for ongoing discovery of households in crisis, a 24-hour hotline Dream Call has been opened and dedicated personnel assigned to provide welfare consultations for residents who have difficulty using smartphones. During the day, reports and consultation requests can be made via voice and text messages, while on weekends and nights, crisis households can be reported through Dream Call text messages and phone calls to the Gangnam District Office duty room.

To ensure no one misses out on welfare support due to lack of information, close-knit local publicity will be strengthened. The importance of voluntary reporting will be continuously communicated to local residents such as community leaders, and cooperation with lifestyle-related businesses such as real estate agencies and goshiwons will be maintained to encourage reporting of households in crisis.

Alongside this, the district held a social welfare forum on the 7th to establish a public-private cooperative welfare system. Social welfare facility workers and experts from the community were invited to discuss welfare issues and challenges in Gangnam-gu and to further strengthen the cooperation system.

Additionally, in celebration of the Chuseok holiday, local volunteers from the Community Security Council and ‘Our Neighborhood Care’ visited low-income households to deliver holiday support items and check on their well-being.

Moreover, information and communication technologies such as AI speakers and confirmation of receipt of welfare text messages were utilized to maintain seamless management even during the holiday period.

Seongmyeong Jo, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, “In the 8th term of the elected government, Gangnam-gu will further strengthen the system for discovering households in crisis to realize welfare without blind spots.” He added, “We will build a smart welfare platform that provides one-stop welfare services needed by households in crisis and offer differentiated welfare services.”

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