Yang Boonam Secures 59.6 Billion Won for Senior Center Food Support: "A Survival Bulwark for the Elderly"

Boo-nam Yang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Gwangju Seo-gu-eul), welcomed the final inclusion of a 59.6 billion won budget for food ingredient support for senior citizen centers in the 2.6 trillion won supplementary budget bill that passed the National Assembly’s plenary session on April 10. He stated, "This fulfills a core pledge by President Lee Jae-myung and realizes a long-cherished wish of our senior citizens."

The budget for food ingredient support for senior citizen centers, which passed the National Assembly on that day, was finalized at 59.6 billion won-an increase of 10.1 billion won over the 49.5 billion won increase originally proposed by Assemblyman Yang for the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee for 2025.

Nam Yangbu

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The national government’s support for food ingredient costs at senior citizen centers is an essential program for implementing President Lee Jae-myung’s key pledge of providing lunch at senior citizen centers five days a week. Previously, in December 2024, the broad framework for meal support was established through the passage of the amended Senior Welfare Act. However, the government objected to the inclusion of 'food ingredient support' in the main budget for the current year, citing insufficient legal grounds for such support, and it was ultimately excluded.

However, after the Ministry of Economy and Finance amended the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Management of Subsidies and removed the legal barriers, Assemblyman Yang actively communicated with the Democratic Party’s floor leadership, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to repeatedly stress the necessity of including the 'food ingredient support budget' in the supplementary budget.

This was part of his efforts to fulfill the Democratic Party’s campaign pledge for food ingredient support, remembering the difficulties voiced directly by senior citizens during his visits to local senior citizen centers in the presidential election campaign. As a result, a budget of 59.6 billion won-exceeding the original proposal-was secured, fully keeping the promise made to seniors.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Yang directly refuted criticisms from some quarters that this food ingredient budget is merely a populist measure for the upcoming local elections.

Assemblyman Yang emphasized, "When food prices soared due to the aftermath of the Middle East war, it was the vulnerable elderly who suffered most severely. Given the reality that local governments lack the resources to provide five meals a week due to tax revenue shortfalls, providing side dishes for empty tables is not a populist move but the most essential survival bulwark for which the state must take responsibility, and a true supplementary budget for people’s livelihoods."

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