The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) finalized its selection of the first 500 households to participate in the pilot operation of the Safety Income Program, a future welfare model designed by Mayor Oh Se-hoon for the social inclusion of underprivileged citizens. This five-year program will provide eligible households with income security, and they will receive their first payment on Mon, Jul. 11.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced to transform Seoul into a city of social inclusion that leaves no one behind at the ribbon-cutting ceremony held to mark the start of the program’s pilot operation at Seoul City Hall at 2 PM on Mon, Jul. 4, which saw attendance by 250 out of the 500 selected households who showed up to provide their signatures to participate in the program.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was then followed by the research advisory group appointment ceremony, where Mayor Oh Se-hoon presented letters of appointment to experts from all walks of life who will conduct research on the pilot operation of the Safety Income Program for the next five years.

An analysis on the demographics of the 500 households selected for the program to receive assistance for the next three years revealed that a majority of households were single-person households at 40% (200), aged 40 to 64 at 50% (250), patriarchal at 49% (245), and matriarchal at 51% (255).

This pilot operation of the Safety Income Program is a pledge made by Mayor Oh Se-hoon as one of the four policies of social inclusion that leaves no one behind, especially the socially underprivileged. Seoul is conducting this social experiment to establish a welfare model to prepare for the future of society where all members of society can be guaranteed a humane life at a time when Industry 4.0 is replacing human labor with technology and threatening the livelihood of low-income households, leading to the emergence of welfare blind spots, poverty, and inequality as major global issues.