Seoul's Jung-gu district signed a welfare blind-spot identification and support MOU with the Jungbu Tax Office and Namdaemun Tax Office on Aug. 19.
Under the agreement, when tax office staff encounter residents struggling to make ends meet during delinquency management visits, they will alert the district. The district will then assess the household's living conditions and connect them to the appropriate welfare services.
The signing ceremony, held at the district mayor's office, was attended by Jung-gu District Mayor Kim Gil-sung, Jungbu Tax Office Director Park Jae-shin, Namdaemun Tax Office Director Ko Ju-seok and other officials.
The MOU was established to help the National Tax Service's tax and non-tax delinquency management teams more actively assist households in need of welfare support that they encounter while verifying delinquency cases.
Under the agreement, the Jungbu and Namdaemun tax offices will report delinquent taxpayers facing financial hardship to the district and its neighborhood community centers, using tools such as a welfare crisis alert app. Jung-gu will then verify the living conditions of those referred by the tax offices and provide the welfare services they need.
"We will work closely with Jung-gu to ensure that delinquent taxpayers in financial hardship receive the welfare support they need without delay," Jungbu Tax Office Director Park said.
"There are residents struggling with daily life in our jurisdiction, including areas near Seoul Station, and we will actively look out for those who need welfare support in the field," Namdaemun Tax Office Director Ko said.
Jung-gu has been signing MOUs with related agencies to proactively identify and support households in crisis. The district plans to continue expanding cooperation with organizations closely tied to residents' daily lives to build an ever tighter welfare outreach network.
"I expect this agreement to play a major role in detecting crisis signals hidden within tax delinquency cases," District Mayor Kim said. "We will continue to broaden our network of cooperation with local organizations so that residents who need help receive the right welfare services at the right time."
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