Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Announces Enhanced Measures to Improve Working Conditions for Social Welfare Facility Workers Next Year Reflecting Voices from the Field

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon held the “Warm Empathy (溫氣共感)” Talk Concert at the Geoje Community Welfare Center in Yeonje-gu at 4:00 p.m. on October 21, where he engaged in dialogue with young social welfare facility workers and announced the city’s plan to improve their working conditions for the coming year.

This event was organized to hear firsthand about the challenges faced by young social welfare facility workers and to share the city’s major welfare policy directions.
About 200 participants, including Mayor Park, young social welfare workers, and representatives from social welfare organizations, attended the event.
To allow those unable to attend in person to join, the talk concert was broadcast live on the YouTube channel of the Busan Association of Social Workers (Busan Social Workers TV).

During the event, an Open Talk session was held under Mayor Park’s lead, where social welfare facility workers shared their experiences and difficulties from the field. The discussion included a Q&A session covering key topics such as housing and employment stability for young workers and improvements to their working conditions.
Participants proposed a variety of ideas and requests, including measures to enhance welfare workers’ treatment, improve working environments, and expand support for social welfare facilities.

After listening attentively to the voices from the field, Mayor Park presented the city’s future welfare policy direction, explaining measures for housing and employment stability as well as announcing next year’s plan to improve working conditions for social welfare facility workers.
The plan includes raising overtime allowances and introducing additional support measures to enhance overall working conditions.

Specifically, Mayor Park outlined the following initiatives:
– In preparation for the enforcement of the Comprehensive Care Support Act in March 2026, the city will develop the Busan Model for Integrated Care and introduce new policies for housing stability among young workers.
– For approximately 6,300 social welfare facility workers, next year’s improvement plan includes raising the monthly overtime limit from 5 hours to 10 hours and increasing the annual Welfare Points from 1.2 million won to 1.5 million won.
– In addition, a new monthly Managerial Allowance of 50,000 won will be provided, while workers in women’s and children’s sectors will newly receive Holiday and Family Allowances.

These measures represent a significant increase compared to this year, aiming to create a more stable working environment for young welfare workers and provide practical support for the future of Busan’s social welfare services.

Following the announcement, Mayor Park and the participants held a symbolic “Commitment to Walk Together” performance, pledging to cooperate in building a warm and inclusive community in Busan.

Mayor Park emphasized,
“Welfare is not merely a benefit but a policy rooted in prevention and sustainability—a foundation for a life that every citizen can share and enjoy.
I hope that the hands of our social welfare facility workers, who care for the most vulnerable members of our society, will continue to be strong partners in building a warm and compassionate community together with Busan Metropolitan City.
We will continue to listen to voices from the field and actively reflect them in our policies.”