Social Security Plan Will Be Applied to More People

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) is planning to expand the beneficiaries of the social security plan by applying a new standard to select the beneficiaries that combines the income standard and the property standard together.

This adjustment is made to expand the social security plan to those who are not protected by the government because they have a small size property even though they have much less income than the minimum living expenses. According to the current law, only those who have income less than 956,000 won (for 4 families) and, at the same time, have property less than 32 million won are protected by the social security plan.

MHW released `the Social Security Plan` and explained that the Ministry will develop the method of property-income exchange rate by the model project over 22,000 families over the nation during the first half of next year. MHW also reported that it had canceled the social securities to 15,000 families through the survey on the financial properties.

In addition, MHW decided to transfer the debts of the low-income delinquents made before June last year ( 40.6 billion won of 380,000 families) to the deficit disposal to release the burden of the health insurance.

The government officials exclusively in charge of the social welfare will increase by 1,700 to 7,200 next year from current 5,500. In addition, to provide jobs to the low-income class, the government will hire 5000 people to help the patients of the Alzheimer next year.

Moon Chul fullmoon@donga.com