Gyeonggi-do Expands 'Honorary Social Welfare Officers' to 50,000 to Address Welfare Blind Spots

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will increase the number of 'Honorary Social Welfare Officers' to over 50,000 to eliminate welfare blind spots.

Honorary Social Welfare Officers are a system introduced by Gyeonggi Province in 2018, where community leaders such as tongjang, who frequently interact with local residents, provide information to residents who are expected to be in crisis or express difficulties, and report or tip off the city or county authorities.

Last year, to discover welfare blind spots, the province actively appointed convenience store workers, delivery workers, gas meter readers, and religious figures as Honorary Social Welfare Officers, increasing their number to about 44,000. However, seeing the need for more personnel, the province decided to expand the number of Honorary Social Welfare Officers to over 50,000 this year.

Last year, the Honorary Social Welfare Officers in the province identified 98,565 households in crisis. The province provided 22,167 cases of public support such as emergency welfare and basic living security, and 131,984 cases of private support such as rice and side dishes to the identified recipients.

Additionally, for complex crisis situations that were not resolved through public and private support, integrated case management was conducted.

This year, to strengthen the sense of responsibility and the possibility of linking welfare systems for Honorary Social Welfare Officers, the province will conduct regular education covering the scope of crisis households, the role of personal safety nets, and cases of discovering welfare blind spots.

Kim Neung-sik, Director of the Welfare Bureau of the province, said, "To shine light on welfare blind spots hidden in the dark, the interest and active participation of neighboring residents are important," and added, "Those who wish to serve as Honorary Social Welfare Officers can apply by visiting the administrative welfare centers in their local eup, myeon, or dong."

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