Goyang-si Realizes Customized Rational Welfare... Blossoming an Era of Citizen Happiness

by Lee jonggu

Pubilshed 24 Dec.2024 08:57(KST)

Expansion of Care Infrastructure... Creating a Child-Friendly Environment
Support for Senior and Disabled Social Participation... Expansion of Customized Jobs
Establishment of Goyang Citizens Welfare Foundation, Approved by Gyeonggi Province... Aiming for Launch in Second Half of Next Year
Lee Dong-hwan, Mayor of Goyang, "Reducing Childbirth and Childcare Burdens... Expanding Senior and Disabled Social Participation"

Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) pursued various welfare policies this year aimed at "an era of citizen happiness and the realization of rational welfare" to improve the quality of life for its citizens. By expanding public-private cooperation to identify vulnerable households and actively supporting them, as well as preparing support measures for welfare blind spots such as solitary deaths and socially isolated households, the city received high praise from the local community.

Opening of Goyang City Moonlight Daycare Center. Provided by Goyang Special City

Goyang Special City expanded childcare infrastructure to provide a foundation for children to grow up healthily and to minimize childcare gaps.

The city established two Dahamkke Care Centers to support after-school care for elementary school students and actively promoted customized case management for children from vulnerable groups. On the city’s website, an integrated platform called “Damoa Childcare e (Dadol e)” was built to allow easy access to childcare services, and the performance of the Didim Seed Bank, which helps economically empower vulnerable children, ranked first among local governments in Gyeonggi Province.

In July, the city established the nation’s first public-private collaborative “Goyang City Moonlight Daycare Center,” promoted a childcare teacher training program with Charlton Brown in Australia, expanded the selection of open daycare centers, and increased the operation of institutions providing part-time childcare services. Achievements were made in expanding night-extended daycare centers to create a safe working environment for parents, designating additional daycare centers exclusively for infants aged 0, and conducting monitoring.

This year, to overcome the low birthrate crisis, the city expanded childbirth support funds for the third child and beyond from 3 million KRW to up to 10 million KRW and added a third communal childcare sharing center in Goyang Janghang Newlywed Hope Town, strengthening social responsibility for childbirth and parenting.

As a result, the city achieved awards such as the 2024 Maeil Business Newspaper Group National Representative Brand Award in the “Best City to Raise Children” category, an A grade in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s Childcare Support Project evaluation, and selection as the top institution in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family’s 2024 Youth After-School Academy evaluation.

Deok-eun Together Care Center Opens. Provided by Goyang Special City

Additionally, the city applied for designation as a Women-Friendly City this year and was designated as such from 2025 to 2029, marking the third consecutive designation and continuing the status for 15 years since the first designation in 2015.

With the increase in average life expectancy and elderly population, the city actively promoted senior job projects to support social participation and income security for the elderly. Seniors can participate in public interest jobs such as school zone traffic guidance volunteering, 365 Neighborhood Guardians, No-No Care, and public facility volunteering, as well as social service jobs like childcare facility assistants, elderly care facility aides, and Lifeline counseling assistants. The city also worked to discover customized senior jobs with competitiveness in market-type jobs such as Silver Cafes, Senior Convenience Stores, Haengju Farms, Grandmothers and Sewing Machines, and school service providers. As of the end of November, a total of 8,853 seniors participated in senior job programs.

The three market-type business groups?Haengju Farms, Grandmothers and Sewing Machines, and Senior Convenience Stores?received the top Excellence Award in the “Economic Inequality Mitigation” category at the 2024 National Basic Local Government Heads Manifesto Best Practice Competition for “Promoting Goyang-tailored market-type businesses generating profits as a virtuous cycle model for senior jobs.”

2024 Family Day Loving Large Family Award. Provided by Goyang Special City

For employment support projects for people with disabilities facing difficulties in finding jobs, the city developed various customized jobs suited to work volume and type, providing jobs to 238 people. The customized public job project expanded social participation opportunities for people with disabilities, guaranteed income, and acted as a catalyst to connect them to private sector employment.

At the 2024 Goyang Customized Job Best Practice Presentation, the project won an Excellence Award under the theme “Jobs for People with Disabilities: Beautiful Changes in Life Beyond Simple Employment.” The city plans to continuously expand job projects to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to bring about life changes through employment.

The city is developing citizen-tailored welfare policies and promoting the establishment of the “Goyang Citizen Welfare Foundation,” the first welfare pledge project of the 8th mayoral term, to realize rational welfare. In October, the city received “consent for establishment” in the final consultation with Gyeonggi Province, which is expected to accelerate project implementation. The city plans to proceed with remaining administrative procedures such as ordinance enactment, approval of the contribution agreement, and budget allocation for contributions, aiming for a launch in the second half of next year with the cooperation and consent of the city council.

Designation of Goyang Special City as a Women-Friendly City. Provided by Goyang Special City

This year, the city strengthened citizen-tailored welfare services and enhanced the public-private cooperation system to ensure practical benefits reach citizens in need. As a result, it received the Excellence Award for “Visiting Health and Welfare Services” in the 2024 Regional Welfare Project Evaluation hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, marking three consecutive years as an excellent institution. It also won the Encouragement Award at the 2024 Eup/Myeon/Dong Welfare and Safety Service Best Practice Competition hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Encouragement Award in the 2024 Public-Private Cooperation Excellent City/County Evaluation hosted by Gyeonggi Province.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang Special City stated, “In line with the era of low birthrate and aging, we must reduce the burden of childbirth and parenting and establish a foundation for expanding social participation and jobs for the elderly. We will lay the groundwork for rational, customized welfare to ensure that necessary support reaches low-income crisis households and others in need.”