Gyeonggi Province Opens One-Stop Center for Financial Welfare Support

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] To assist credit recovery for those in financial crisis, the 'Gyeonggi Province Common People's Financial Welfare Support Center One-Stop Center,' which performs debt adjustment, small loans, and welfare service linkage all at once, held its opening ceremony on the 10th and began full-fledged operations.

The opening ceremony held at the Northern Center of Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation in Uijeongbu was attended by Lee Han-gyu, Executive Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province; Bang Jae-yul, Chairman of the Health and Welfare Committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council; Lee Young-joo, Member of the Provincial Council's Health and Welfare Committee; Oh Suk-hee, Standing Executive Director of IBK Micro Finance; Hwang Beom-soon, Vice Mayor of Uijeongbu; Jin Seok-beom, Representative Director of Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation; and Lee Byung-woo, Director of Welfare Division of Gyeonggi Province, among others.

The Common People's Financial Welfare Support Center One-Stop Center, located at the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation's Northern Center, is an integrated center where citizens can receive not only financial counseling such as debt adjustment and financial consulting previously conducted at the existing Common People's Financial Welfare Support Center, but also legal and job counseling, small loan services, illegal private finance damage relief, and welfare service linkage all at once.

The province recruited legal counselors and illegal private finance damage relief specialists, while the Gyeonggi Province Job Creation Foundation and IBK Micro Finance dispatched job counselors and small loan officers.

The province also coordinated with the Korea Social Security Information Service to establish the Happiness e-um system (social security information system) and prepared to enable immediate welfare linkage through city and county community centers.

In addition, a working-level cooperation body was organized to conduct integrated case management among collaborating agencies at least once a month. The policy is to research and analyze complex cases that are difficult to process immediately at the One-Stop Center and propose solutions.

In the second half of this year, four additional regional centers will be installed, and 3-4 professional counselors and separate counseling spaces will be secured to provide high-quality integrated financial and welfare services.

Lee Han-gyu, Executive Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Through the One-Stop Center, I hope to provide integrated services such as financial adjustment, welfare, employment, and housing to residents in financial crisis, opening opportunities for economic independence," and "We will actively communicate and cooperate so that finance can better fulfill its public functions such as sound capital circulation."

Any resident of Gyeonggi Province in need of financial counseling can receive counseling online, by phone, or through in-person visits. Applications can be made through the internet homepage (http://g-counseling.gcgf.or.kr) or the main phone number 1899-6014.