South Gyeongsang Province launches four-year welfare blueprint to close regional gaps

South Gyeongsang Province has formally begun drafting a medium- to long-term social security blueprint that will guide welfare policy for the next four years, aiming to build a tailored welfare foundation that residents across the province can feel in their daily lives.

The province held the Policy Communication Forum for the Establishment of the 6th Regional Social Security Plan (2027–2030) on Friday afternoon at the convention hall of Changwon Moonsung University. About 100 people attended, including welfare officials from 18 cities and counties, representatives from the Gyeongnam Research Institute and the South Gyeongsang Social Service Agency, members of local community social security councils, and researchers involved in the planning project.

The forum was organized to share the vision and basic direction of the sixth plan and to explore ways to reduce welfare disparities between regions by building closer cooperation with frontline cities and counties. The province set its vision for the plan as "a South Gyeongsang Province where all residents are happy through reliable welfare," pledging to focus its administrative resources on developing policies that residents can tangibly experience in their everyday lives.

Particularly prominent at the forum was discussion of welfare polarization stemming from imbalances in population structure, fiscal conditions and social security resources between urban areas and rural towns and villages. Closing the gap in service accessibility between densely populated areas such as Changwon and Gimhae and rural counties with high aging rates was identified as the top priority.

In response, the province outlined plans to strengthen its "South Gyeongsang-style integrated care" system to address welfare blind spots in frontline cities and counties, and to support workforce capacity through the South Gyeongsang Social Service Agency. The strategy calls for expanding specialized consulting and monitoring to bolster welfare infrastructure in rural and vulnerable areas, and for gradually building out essential medical and welfare facilities — including a public children's rehabilitation hospital — to achieve balanced development across regions.

The province also plans to carry forward strong welfare achievements from the eighth elected administration while aligning with the ninth administration's governing direction of "a great leap forward for South Gyeongsang Province together with residents," ensuring an uninterrupted welfare safety net. It will maintain continuity in core existing policies — including support for households facing multiple crises and the construction of a tightly woven care network — while adding new initiatives suited to a rapidly changing social environment.

The forum also featured the sharing of best practices to inform a field-centered planning process. The case of Gimhae, which channels resident input into welfare policy through its community social security council — a public-private partnership body — drew particular attention from participants. The province plans to establish a complementary collaboration model in which South Gyeongsang Province, as the regional authority, oversees balanced development and support systems, while individual municipalities capture the welfare needs of residents on the ground.

The regional social security plan is a legally mandated medium- to long-term comprehensive plan that must be drawn up every four years under Article 35 of the Act on the Use and Provision of Social Security Benefits and the Discovery of Eligible Recipients. The province will collect draft plans from its 18 cities and counties — which are required to reflect resident needs and submit them by Sept. 30 — and align them with the provincial-level plan. It will then gather expert opinions by sector, hold policy roundtables on key initiatives, and conduct interim and final presentations before submitting the final plan to the Ministry of Health and Welfare by Nov. 30, following deliberation by the South Gyeongsang Province Regional Social Security Committee.

"The regional social security plan is a critical undertaking that lays the foundation for welfare in South Gyeongsang Province over the next four years, so capturing voices from the field is essential," said Kim Do-hyeon, head of the province's welfare policy division. "We will carefully examine the conditions and resident needs of each area to complete a social safety net that ensures every resident can enjoy real welfare benefits."