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Busan Metropolitan City Conducts Emergency Cold Wave Preparedness Checks: Ensuring the Safety of Vulnerable Residents

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□ Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on December 26 it conducted on-site inspections to protect vulnerable groups, including homeless people living on the streets and persons with disabilities, in preparation for a sharp drop in temperatures following a cold wave advisory.
○ The inspections were conducted as a measure to protect vulnerable residents from risks such as casualties caused by the year-end severe cold wave. City officials visited sites in person to review the cold wave response system.

□ First, the City visited the Comprehensive Support Center for the Homeless and closely inspected: ▲the operation of emergency shelters ▲the operation of shelters ▲the status of meal provision for the homeless.
○ Currently, the City operates three Comprehensive Support Centers for the Homeless and two counseling centers for residents of jjokbang (single-room occupancy housing) as shelters. In addition, the Busan Hope Dream Center in Jwachon-dong provides free meals twice a day (lunch and dinner) every day without holidays.

<Vulnerable Groups in Busan Metropolitan City> (As of Nov. 2025, Unit: persons) Total: 314,095 Elderly living alone: 247,665 Homeless: 633 Residents of jjokbang (single-room occupancy housing): 936 Severely disabled persons: 64,861

□ In addition, the City visited facilities for persons with disabilities (residential facilities and welfare centers) and senior facilities (support centers for the elderly living alone and senior welfare centers) to inspect: ▲whether heating systems are operating properly ▲winter safety management practices ▲emergency response systems for staff, and to hear on-site difficulties.
○ The City urged disability residential facilities to strengthen safety inspections of essential facilities such as heating, electricity, and water supply, and to maintain an emergency contact system so that they can respond immediately in the event of an emergency during a cold wave.
○ The City also visited support centers for the elderly living alone and senior welfare centers, intensively inspecting the provision of customized care services for elderly residents living alone and other vulnerable seniors, as well as the operational status of the free meal program for seniors. The City plans to continue ongoing management and inspections to prevent care gaps and concerns about missed meals during the cold wave.

□ In particular, during this cold wave period, the City will intensively implement measures to strengthen protection for homeless people living on the streets, including: ▲enhanced patrols (outreach) ▲active guidance to emergency shelters and relief rooms ▲protective support linkage through on-site counseling.
○ To this end, the City is operating a “Joint Response Team for the Homeless,” an “On-site Response Task Force,” and “Emergency Shelters and Relief Rooms.”
○ The “Joint Response Team for the Homeless” consists of the City, districts and counties (gu and gun), the police, the fire department, and officials from homeless facilities. The “On-site Response Task Force,” which strengthens on-site health management for homeless people living on the streets, is composed of three teams totaling 16 members. It has been in operation for five months from this November through next March.

<Composition and Operation of the On-site Response Task Force>

• ●Busan Somang Comprehensive Support Center: Center director and 5 others

• ○Operation: Daily, as needed

• ○Night: Mon–Fri (22:00–04:00)

• ○Note: Intensive period

• ●Busan Hope Lighthouse Comprehensive Support Center: Center director and 5 others

• ○Operation: Flexible operation

• ●Busan Hope Dream Center: Center director and 3 others

• ○Operation: Daily, as needed

<Comprehensive Support Centers and Counseling Centers for Residents of Jjokbang (Single-Room Occupancy Housing)>

• ●Comprehensive Support Centers

• ○Busan Somang Comprehensive Support Center (Dong-gu): 463-7707

• ○Busan Hope Lighthouse Comprehensive Support Center (Emergency Shelter) (Busanjin-gu): 463-1127 (Emergency protection)

• ○Busan Hope Dream Center (Dong-gu): 631-9001 (Free meals)

• ●Counseling Centers for Residents of Jjokbang (Single-Room Occupancy Housing)

• ○Dong-gu Counseling Center for Jjokbang Residents (Dong-gu): 462-2017

• ○Busanjin-gu Counseling Center for Jjokbang Residents (Busanjin-gu): 807-5663

○ In addition, to prepare for emergency situations involving homeless people living on the streets during winter, the City provides support for: ▲Emergency Shelter (operated 365 days a year) ▲Emergency Relief Rooms linked with nearby lodging businesses ▲Temporary Housing Costs (up to three months, including monthly rent for gosiwon and transportation expenses).

• ●Emergency Shelter: 365 days a year, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. the next day / Hope Lighthouse Comprehensive Support Center

• ●Emergency Relief Rooms: Operated in partnership with motels / Hope Lighthouse and Somang Comprehensive Support Centers

• ●Temporary Housing Costs: Support for up to three months, including gosiwon rent and transportation expenses / Counseling Centers for Residents of Jjokbang (Single-Room Occupancy Housing)

□ Jeong Tae-gi, Director General of the City’s Social Welfare Bureau, said, “In order to ensure that vulnerable groups, including homeless people living on the streets and persons with disabilities, do not suffer due to the year-end cold wave, we thoroughly inspected the on-site, field-oriented protection system,” adding, “We will do our utmost until the end to respond to the cold wave so that vulnerable residents can get through the winter safely within a warm community.”