Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Employees’ “Last-Digit Giving”: Small Acts of Kindness Become a Stepping Stone to Youth Self-Reliance

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□ Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will hold the “Monthly Salary Remainder Donation Ceremony for City Employees and Others” today (25) at 09:30 in the International Protocol Office on the 7th floor of City Hall.

○ Attendees will include Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-duk, the Director General of the Social Welfare Bureau, representatives of the Busan Child Welfare Association, and a donor representative (chair of the Busan Metropolitan City Public Officials’ Labor Union).
○ During the event, donations voluntarily collected last year by city employees and employees of related organizations will be presented to the Busan Child Welfare Association, followed by a commemorative photo and an informal meeting.

□ The total donation to be delivered this time is 33.06 million won, which will be provided as self-reliance support funds to 58 young people leaving child welfare facilities, at 570,000 won per person.
○ The support is expected to help young people aging out of care as they take their first steps into society by providing stable assistance for initial living expenses, education costs, and other needs to build a foundation for independent living.

□ The “monthly salary remainder donation” is a voluntary giving method in which participants donate amounts under 1,000 won or under 10,000 won from their monthly salary, or make a fixed-amount donation. It began in April 2008 and has continued for 19 years this year.
○ Currently, a total of 1,925 people participate, including city employees as well as staff from the Social Service Agency and the Busan Transportation Culture Training Institute, and it has become an established culture of everyday giving through daily practice.

□ In particular, the initiative has become a representative example of giving in the public sector, in which small contributions from each individual come together to support the self-reliance of young people aging out of care. To date, it has provided self-reliance support funds totaling approximately 890 million won to 1,988 recipients, continuing to serve as a sustained social safety net.
○ The funds collected are operated in a way that supports young people scheduled to age out of care in the following year, maintaining a stable support system.

□ Meanwhile, to help young people leaving child welfare facilities settle into society stably, Busan Metropolitan City provides a one-time resettlement grant of 15 million won per person and a monthly self-reliance allowance of 500,000 won (up to five years). For those admitted to university, it also provides an admission support grant of 4 million won and an enrollment preparation grant of 500,000 won.

□ Mayor Park Heong-joon said, “This donation is even more meaningful because it is a form of everyday giving voluntarily created through the warm hearts of our employees,” adding, “I hope these small acts of kindness will come together to become hope for young people taking their first steps into society and convey the message that Busan is a warm community that cares together.”

□ He added, “We will continue our interest and support so that young people aging out of care can achieve stable independence and prepare for their future.”