Health ministry names 44 local governments for 2025 welfare plans

The health ministry said Friday it had selected 44 local governments as outstanding performers in carrying out their 2025 community social security plans, with Daegu, Gyeonggi Province, Suncheon, Jincheon County and Busan's Sasang District taking the top prize. Eight local governments received the top excellence award, 25 the excellence award and six a special award.

In the metropolitan category, Daegu and Gyeonggi Province won the grand prize, while Incheon and North Chungcheong Province took top excellence honors and Ulsan received a special award. Among basic-level governments, Suncheon in South Jeolla Province, Jincheon County in North Chungcheong Province and Sasang District in Busan won the grand prize.

Daegu was cited for a loneliness-prevention system that links 24-hour monitoring through an artificial intelligence care service with a dedicated support team, a program covering out-of-pocket costs for fertility treatment that the ministry described as the largest of its kind in the country, free public transport for older residents and jobs programs tailored to different age groups. Gyeonggi Province was recognized for consolidating 19 care programs under a single brand, operating community transition facilities that help people with mental illness settle into local life, reimbursing exam fees for unemployed young people and opening a support center for immigrant integration.

The evaluation, conducted annually under the Social Security Benefits Act, reviews how faithfully local governments drafted their plans, how appropriately they carried them out and how far they met their goals.

It also briefed officials on changes taking effect next year, when an amended law will require an assessment of community social security levels, and said it would gather local input as it draws up the assessment method. In the afternoon, the ministry held a consulting session with the 16 metropolitan governments to feed the evaluation results back to them and collect their requests, with the findings to be reflected in the sixth round of community social security plans for 2027-2030 and in 2027 implementation plans.

"To raise the level of community social security, it is important to expand resident participation across the entire process, from drawing up plans to evaluation," said Jin Young-joo, head of the ministry's social welfare policy office. "We will provide close support so that field opinions and evaluation results become a practical driving force for improving each local government's welfare policies."