Jeonnam Provincial Council Health, Welfare and Environment Committee Strengthens Support for Youth Preparing for Independence

32% of Youth Preparing for Independence Lost Contact, Success Rate Below 50%

The Health, Welfare, and Environment Committee of the Jeonnam Provincial Council held a meeting to strengthen support for youth preparing for independence. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Council

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Health, Welfare, and Environment Committee of the Jeonnam Provincial Council announced on the 4th that it held a meeting to strengthen support for youth preparing for independence.

The meeting was organized to review Jeonnam’s support policies for youth preparing for independence and seek alternatives, following a recent incident in Gwangju Metropolitan City where two youths preparing for independence gave up on life due to economic difficulties and loneliness.

Kim Jong-bun, Jeonnam Women and Family Policy Officer, stated, “We provide financial support such as 10 million won for settlement funds, 1.5 million won for university entrance preparation, and a monthly independence allowance of 350,000 won to help youth preparing for independence achieve full independence. Additionally, dedicated independence institutions offer career counseling and employment support.”

He added, “Currently, among the 725 youths preparing for independence managed by the province, 232 (32%) are out of contact, and the success rate of independence is below 50%. To address this, we are conducting the first-ever local government survey on the actual conditions and needs of youth preparing for independence.”

Regarding measures to strengthen independence capabilities, Assemblyman Kim Ho-jin (Democratic Party, Naju 1) said, “Various educational supports for self-development are needed from the stage of child protection,” and demanded, “Support for educational expenses such as academy fees should be strengthened so that children can start independence from an equal starting line.”

Assemblywoman Kim Mi-sook (Democratic Party, Sinan 2) said, “In the case of foster care, more than half of the cases involve grandparents taking responsibility for raising protected children, and elderly grandparents likely face a heavy burden regarding child education,” and requested, “I hope measures to analyze and support such situations in detail will also be prepared.”

In addition, the assembly members presented various opinions such as support for self-development learning expenses, support for foster care by elderly grandparents, consideration of support policies by life cycle, and formation of social safety nets to strengthen support for youth preparing for independence.

Chairman Choi Seon-guk said, “Please do your best to promote the survey so that comprehensive and detailed measures such as psychological and emotional support, life cycle support policies, and social safety net formation can be established,” and added, “I hope the interim results of the survey will also be shared with the committee.”

He continued, “At the committee level, we will visit child welfare facilities and dedicated independence institutions to listen to the difficulties of workers and children and hold forums,” and stated, “Based on the results, the Health, Welfare, and Environment Committee will take the lead in preparing related ordinances so that youth preparing for independence can grow into healthy members of society.”

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