Elderly couple in financial hardship connected to three months of emergency welfare support and housing assistance; district collects 690 million won from small-amount delinquents since August
Dongdaemun-gu in Seoul said its tax delinquency management team discovered an elderly couple in financial hardship during a routine field investigation of small-amount delinquents and connected them to emergency welfare benefits and private housing support.
The couple owned an aging home but were struggling to cover basic living expenses and keep up with loan interest payments. The property carried a mortgage lien, and inspectors also found the house was at risk of water leakage due to its deteriorated condition.
The delinquency team assessed the couple's actual income, debt burden, health and living environment alongside their property ownership. After relaying its findings to the district's welfare department, the household was approved for three months of government emergency welfare support.
For the leakage risk, the district also arranged private housing assistance through the Dongdaemun Community Welfare Center's "Hopeful Ondol" project, a program that mobilizes community resources to address residential repair needs. The intervention combined public benefits with local welfare resources to ensure the couple received the help they needed.
Since August, Dongdaemun-gu's delinquency management team has been conducting field-based collection activities targeting residents with outstanding tax arrears of less than 1 million won ($755). Officers verify whether residents actually live at the registered address, assess their financial circumstances and ability to pay, and refer those facing genuine hardship to relevant welfare services.
Through those field activities, the district has collected approximately 5,000 cases totaling 690 million won in delinquent taxes as of this month. The district said it is running collection efforts and crisis-household identification in parallel, so that delinquency visits also serve as a touchpoint for checking on residents' living conditions.
"We will pursue strict collection against those who deliberately and habitually avoid paying taxes despite having the means to do so, while connecting residents facing genuine hardship to the welfare support they need," Dongdaemun-gu District Mayor Choi Dong-min said. "We will ensure that the delinquency team's field activities lead to fair tax administration and the discovery of households falling through the welfare safety net."
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