Gyeonggi Province Extends Application Deadline for Emergency Living Expense Support for Crisis Households to November 20

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province is extending the application deadline for emergency living expense support for crisis households by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to overcome the COVID-19 crisis by two weeks until November 20.

Eligible recipients are households with income below 75% of the median income facing financial hardship and low-income crisis households with property below 350 million won.

Applicants who have experienced unemployment or business closure or suspension due to COVID-19 can apply upon confirmation of income reduction alone.

If bank transaction records are available, applications can be submitted without an income reduction report. For cases where income cannot be objectively verified, such as daily wage workers and small business owners, applicants can be recognized with a self-reported income reduction statement by simply filling out a separate form available at their local administrative welfare centers (eup, myeon, or dong level).

Households that have received support through existing welfare programs such as basic livelihood security (living allowance) or emergency welfare, or government support programs such as emergency employment stabilization support or new hope funds for small business owners are excluded.

During the extended period, applications are only possible through in-person visits to local administrative welfare centers (eup, myeon, or dong level), and can be submitted by the household head, household members, or a proxy.

Payment amounts are based on household members registered in the resident registration database as of September 9, 2020: 400,000 won for single-person households, 600,000 won for two-person households, 800,000 won for three-person households, and 1,000,000 won for four-person households.

Upon payment, households with income or sales decrease of 25% or more are prioritized for payment, while households with 25% or less decrease are finalized and paid based on priority considerations such as the order of higher income or sales decrease rates within the budget scope.

Kim Tae-hun, Director of the Welfare Business Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "We encourage active applications from many Gyeonggi Province residents whose income has decreased due to COVID-19, including small business owners (traditional market vendors, street vendors, etc.) and wage earners, as well as those who did not qualify for other government support programs. We will do our best to ensure that support funds are paid out swiftly by the end of this year."