Gyeonggi-do to Provide 200,000 KRW Monthly to Basic Livelihood Recipients Among Seongam Academy Victims

Excavation of the Remains of the Seongam Academy Victims [Image Source=Yonhap News]

Gyeonggi Province will start providing livelihood assistance allowances to basic livelihood security recipients among the victims of the ‘Seongam Academy Child Human Rights Violation Incident’ in Ansan from this year.

There had been an issue where some basic livelihood security recipients were unable to receive support because the livelihood stabilization support fund provided by Gyeonggi Province was included in the recognized income amount.

On the 10th, Gyeonggi Province announced the ‘Partial Amendment to the Ordinance on Support for Victims of the Seongam Academy Incident in Gyeonggi Province’ containing this provision.

The amended ordinance stipulates that the monthly livelihood stabilization support fund of 200,000 KRW provided to victims of the Seongam Academy incident will be paid as a livelihood assistance allowance instead of the livelihood stabilization support fund only to basic livelihood security recipients.

Current guidelines under the National Basic Livelihood Security Act allow allowances that assist the livelihood of basic livelihood security recipients to be excluded from income recognition. Accordingly, basic livelihood security recipients among the Seongam Academy victims can now receive the full allowance.

Last year, Gyeonggi Province paid livelihood stabilization support funds to a total of 194 victims. Among them, 52 people, accounting for 27%, were basic livelihood security recipients.

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Provincial Council had been working on amending the ordinance since October last year to resolve the issue of basic livelihood security recipients among the Seongam Academy incident victims not receiving the livelihood stabilization support fund.

Masunheung, Gyeonggi Province’s Human Rights Officer, stated, "It is understood that most of the Seongam Academy victims have lived difficult lives due to inadequate education," and added, "We will continue to make efforts so that all victims can receive support without any blind spots."

Seongam Academy was a detention facility operated from 1946 to 1982 under the pretext of reforming vagrant children. A total of 4,691 children and adolescents forcibly taken there suffered harsh treatment such as starvation, forced labor, verbal and physical abuse.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Past Affairs issued a truth-finding decision in October 2022 recognizing the detainees of Seongam Academy as victims. Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province officially apologized to the victims and has been actively promoting support projects for healing wounds and restoring honor since January last year.

In particular, since March last year, Gyeonggi Province has been providing consolation money of 5 million KRW and a monthly livelihood stabilization support fund of 200,000 KRW to victims of child human rights violations at Seongam Academy. Gyeonggi Province is the first local government to provide consolation money to victims of state violence like those of Seongam Academy.

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