Tailored self-sufficiency support pilot to launch Wednesday across 52 local governments

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Self-Sufficiency Welfare Development Institute announced Tuesday that they will launch a first-phase pilot program Wednesday to establish a tailored self-sufficiency support system, running for six months.

The tailored self-sufficiency support system assigns participants to project units suited to their individual goals, based on factors such as their capacity for work and motivation to become self-sufficient.

Participants who can realistically achieve employment or start a business in a short period are placed on an "independence challenge" track, setting employment or entrepreneurship as their goal and receiving intensive support toward it. Those who first need to build motivation are placed on a "self-sufficiency preparation" track, with goals focused on strengthening their will and work capabilities, and are assigned to project units accordingly.

The first-phase pilot involves 52 basic local governments and 61 community self-sufficiency centers nationwide.

The ministry said participating institutions are evenly distributed by regional type — urban, mixed urban-rural and rural — as well as by scale.

Each center can receive up to 50 million won ($32,400) in project funding, based on its pilot plan and the number of participants enrolled.

During the pilot period, the ministry will oversee overall operations and performance management. The Korea Self-Sufficiency Welfare Development Institute will provide on-site support, including advisory services on individual project plans, and will run a consultative body among participating institutions to identify and address problems as they arise.

After the first-phase pilot concludes, the government plans to run a second-phase pilot over the following year before launching a full program in 2028, with 250 community self-sufficiency centers taking part.