Ministry of Health and Welfare selects three 'small but certain innovation' tasks in population and social services

Payment methods for community service investment projects and family registry exposure for children in facilities also to be improved

An automated civil affairs kiosk [Yonhap]
An automated civil affairs kiosk [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Sunday that it has selected three administrative improvement tasks for June and July under its "small but certain innovation" initiative in the population and social services sectors.

The first change makes it easier to obtain disability certificates for minor children. Previously, parents or guardians had to visit a community welfare center in person to obtain such certificates, because minors without their own digital ID or mobile phone could not apply online.

Going forward, parents who share a registered address with their minor child will be able to use their own digital ID or mobile phone to apply online — through the Bokjiro or Government24 portals — and receive the child's disability certificate without visiting an office.

The second change introduces contactless payment for users of the community social service investment project, starting July 1 in Gangwon Province, North Gyeongsang Province and South Gyeongsang Province.

Until now, users of services under the project — including psychological support services for children and adolescents — had to make payments in person using a voucher card in the presence of the service provider.

Users in those three regions will now be able to pay via biometric authentication without meeting the provider face to face. The ministry plans to expand the biometric payment option to additional regions after consulting with provincial and city governments.

The third change addresses the unnecessary disclosure of facility names on the family registry documents of children in state care. Children placed in child welfare facilities have had their institutional placement exposed every time they submitted family-related documents to schools, banks or other institutions — and that exposure continued into adulthood, affecting financial transactions, job applications and housing purchases for those who had aged out of care.

To eliminate the stigma caused by such disclosures, the ministry revised the family registry format in January to remove facility names from the records. In June, it will begin actively informing facilities and other relevant parties of the change.

Meanwhile, the ministry plans to hold a public vote to let citizens choose which of the June–July "small but certain innovation" policies they find most impactful.

Voting will run from June 29 to July 8 through the ministry's official blog, and 100 participants will be selected to receive prizes.


thlee@heraldcorp.com