Daegu's Dalseo-gu named outstanding local government for winter welfare outreach

Daegu's Dalseo-gu announced Thursday that it has been named an outstanding local government in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "2025–2026 Winter Welfare Crisis Household Discovery and Support" evaluation, earning a commendation from the minister.

The ministry selected 23 local governments nationwide that actively identified and supported welfare-marginalized residents facing hardship during last winter's cold snap and economic difficulties. The honorees comprised one metropolitan city or province and 22 city, county or district offices.

The evaluation combined quantitative indicators — including the rate of support provided to identified recipients, the rate of increase in support, and the reduction in unprocessed cases, all tracked through the "Haengbok e-eum" welfare blind-spot detection system — with an assessment of each local government's specialized programs.

Dalseo-gu received high marks for operating a tightly woven community welfare safety net aimed at proactively identifying households in crisis, swiftly connecting them to welfare services and building a sustainable welfare community.

The district ran a digital detection system that included a smart welfare crisis alert app and AI-assisted counseling drawing on crisis-related big data.

Alongside this, it built an online and offline crisis-household detection network by mobilizing local human safety-net volunteers — including a neighborhood happiness guardian program, honorary social welfare civil servants and a lifestyle support team.

Particularly notable was the district's partnership with 398 businesses in everyday sectors that have frequent contact with residents — convenience stores, cafes, supermarkets, banchan ("side dish") shops and hair salons — establishing a public-private cooperation network across all 23 neighborhoods.

Households identified as being in crisis received emergency welfare support along with services tailored to each family's circumstances through Dalseo-gu's specialized programs, including a community solidarity campaign and a local resource-sharing initiative.

"This award is the result of our resident-centered local human safety net and our AI- and ICT-based crisis detection system working in concert," Dalseo-gu District Chief Kim Yong-pan said. "We will continue to respond proactively to climate change and increasingly complex and diverse social risks, building a happy Dalseo with no welfare blind spots."