Funding secured through public-private partnership involving the Community Chest of Korea, dong community center funds and private donations; tailored support includes air conditioners, fans and summer blankets, alongside outreach and welfare checks for at-risk households
Seoul's Dongdaemun-gu district office is rolling out a cooling-supply support project for heat-vulnerable residents as the district braces for an earlier-than-usual onset of summer heat and a prolonged heat wave season. Acting District Mayor Kim Ki-hyun, who serves as deputy district mayor, is leading the initiative.
The program is backed by a total budget of 40 million won (about $26,500) and will provide tailored items — including air conditioners and summer blankets — to elderly residents, people with disabilities and low-income single-person households most at risk from extreme heat.
The district will direct 20 million won in Community Chest of Korea donations toward supplying air conditioners to 40 households that currently have no cooling equipment.
Alongside this, individual dong community centers will use their own funds — including Hope Welfare Committee reserves — to provide fans and air conditioners. The district also plans to secure an additional 10 million won worth of cooling supplies through donations from private organizations and businesses in the area.
Private civic groups have also stepped up as key partners in the effort. The Dongdaemun-gu Social Welfare Council, led by Chairman Kim Yeong-seop, held a donation ceremony Monday at the deputy district mayor's office, contributing 130 slim summer blankets valued at 10 million won to help kick off the comprehensive support drive. The blankets will be distributed through the district's 15 dong community centers.
The district said it will go beyond simply handing out supplies. Drawing on a public-private cooperation network that includes dong community centers, welfare centers and local social security councils, the district plans to actively identify heat-vulnerable households and pair cooling-supply deliveries with welfare checks and living-condition assessments.
"Heat waves are a life-threatening disaster for vulnerable residents, which is why proactive support and a tight-knit protection system are essential," Deputy District Mayor Kim Ki-hyun said. "We will do our utmost — with the warm generosity of private partners and the wider community — to help our neighbors in need get through the summer safely and in good health."
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