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Busan Saemaul Geumgo Donates KRW 50 Million to Support Citizen-Centered Daily Life Services

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The Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will host the “Busan Saemaul Geumgo Donation Ceremony” today (July 11) at 1:30 p.m. in the International Protocol Room at City Hall, together with Saemaul Geumgo and the Busan Public Agency for Social Service (hereinafter “the Agency”).

Attending the ceremony are Lee Jun-seung, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs of Busan, Soo-yong Park, Director of the Saemaul Geumgo Federation, Deok-gyu Kim, Head of the Busan Regional Headquarters, and Kyu-won Yoo, President of the Busan Public Agency for Social Service.

During the ceremony, the Saemaul Geumgo Busan Regional Headquarters and 70 local Saemaul Geumgo branches will donate a total of KRW 50 million to the Busan Public Agency for Social Service.

Of the total, the Busan Regional Headquarters will contribute KRW 15 million, and the 70 local branches will donate KRW 35 million.

The donation will be used to support the city’s new “By Your Side (愛)” initiative, a neighborhood-based lifestyle assistance program managed by the Busan Public Agency for Social Service.

This program provides personalized daily life services to vulnerable citizens, including seniors, people with disabilities, and expectant mothers. The Agency oversees the project and implements it through four regional service providers.

Key services include:

• ●Lifestyle Support: grocery shopping proxy, pharmacy and hospital prescription pickup and delivery, proxy issuance of public documents

• ●Home Visits: light housekeeping (e.g., taking out trash, organizing items), changing light bulbs, wellness check-ins, companionship

• ●Additional Services: receiving/returning parcels, transportation assistance for medical or public service purposes

Established in 1963, Saemaul Geumgo is a representative financial cooperative rooted in Korea’s traditional spirit of mutual aid. It aims to enhance the quality of life for its members and promote local community development.

The organization plays a key role in various areas, including savings promotion, local economic revitalization, and support for vulnerable populations. In 2024 alone, it contributed KRW 42.8 billion to social contribution activities, benefiting over 1.066 million individuals and 33,248 organizations.

Representative initiatives include the “Sharing Love Grain Jar” campaign, which provides rice and daily necessities to the underprivileged, and community-tailored welfare services such as housing improvements, meal support, youth housing scholarships, and vehicle assistance.

Vice Mayor Lee Jun-seung remarked, “Through the Busan Public Agency for Social Service, we will continue to provide warm and accessible services to more citizens,” adding, “We will work closely with Saemaul Geumgo to close welfare gaps and build a warm and inclusive community where all citizens can thrive.”