Changwon Special City, Guide to Newly Changed Systems and Policies This Year

57 Citizen-Customized Policies in 5 Areas

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has published a booklet titled "2024 Policy Changes" that carefully selects newly implemented or modified citizen-tailored policies starting this year.

The policy and system changes effective from the new year cover 57 items across five sectors: ▲Welfare/Women/Youth ▲Economy/Taxation ▲Citizen Life ▲Housing/Transportation/Safety ▲Environment/Agriculture and Forestry. The booklet also includes changes in central government policies, including those of Changwon Special City, providing comprehensive information useful for citizens' daily lives.

First, support policies in the welfare/women/youth sector will be significantly expanded. The city will increase the "First Meeting Voucher," which previously provided 2 million KRW to all newborns, to 3 million KRW for the second child and beyond starting this year.

Among policies for youth, the "Changwon Freshman Support Fund (1 million KRW per person)" given to first-year freshmen who have resided in the city for more than one year and attend a local university is also noteworthy.

Additionally, new or expanded tailored welfare support policies by demographic include the opening of the "Changwon Mom Community Center," support for naturalization fees for marriage immigrants, and daily care services for middle-aged and older adults.

In the economy/taxation sector, a notable policy is the "New Career Consulting Project for Retired (or Soon-to-Retire) Professionals." The city supports professionals aged 40 to under 65 who are retired or about to retire by providing career counseling and consulting to set new life goals and offering job training programs to create reemployment opportunities and social contribution jobs.

Furthermore, the city plans to support the competitiveness and stable management environment of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small business owners through initiatives such as "Support for Activating ESG Management in SMEs" and "Operation of Legal Counseling Support Group for Small Business Owners."

In the citizen life sector, the booklet introduces the revamped COVID-19 response system transitioning to a general medical system. The screening clinics operated by local public health centers were discontinued as of December 31, 2023, so from this year, PCR or Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) must be conducted at general medical institutions.

In the housing/transportation/safety sector, the coverage items of the "Changwon City Citizen Safety Insurance," which pays insurance benefits to citizens affected by unexpected disasters or accidents, have been expanded to a total of 24 items. The existing coverage now includes "Death from Social Disasters (excluding infectious diseases)," allowing compensation regardless of the type of accident or responsible party for incidents recognized as social disasters by the state.

Additionally, the guarantee deposit standard for the "Jeonse Deposit Return Guarantee Fee Support" has been expanded from 150 million KRW to up to 200 million KRW, strengthening protection for groups vulnerable to jeonse fraud.

In the environment/agriculture and forestry sector, the "Establishment and Operation of Rental Farms for Young Entrepreneurial Farmers' Management Practice" provides farming startup opportunities to young farmers lacking farming experience. Eligible applicants are young farmers aged 18 to under 40. The rental period is a basic 3 years (extendable up to 3 times annually, maximum 6 years), and the rent is set at within 50% of the surrounding market price to minimize the economic burden on young farmers.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, said, "Since the booklet is composed of carefully selected systems and policies closely related to daily life, we ask for the citizens' great interest so that they do not miss out on the benefits available as Changwon citizens."

Meanwhile, the booklet is scheduled to be available at eup, myeon, and dong administrative welfare centers within the first week of January and will also be published in electronic book format, allowing interested citizens to access the materials anytime on the city’s official website.

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