Around 15,000 elderly people nationwide collect waste paper… with an average age of 78.

Ministry of Health and Welfare Provides Jobs for 4,787 Individuals
Some Jobs Pay 2.3 Times More Than Minimum Income,

[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Go Seung-min = An elderly man collecting recyclables on a street in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul on June 26, when it rained heavily in most parts of the country. The elderly man is taking a rest by the roadside after loading the recyclables on a cart. 2023.06.26. kkssmm99@newsis.com, ‘[Seoul=Newsis] Reporter Jung Yu-sun = A (82) living in Dong-gu, Daejeon, who is living on basic pension and money earned from picking up recyclables, was informed by a neighbor about the survey on elderly recyclables collectors and received individual counseling at the local administrative welfare center. The survey results revealed that A was selected as a beneficiary of basic livelihood support and was included in the integrated case management system, receiving a boiler donation.’,
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, ‘The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 9th the results of a nationwide survey on elderly recyclables collectors conducted from February to May this year. ‘,
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, ‘The survey was conducted to assess the individual living conditions, employment needs, and welfare aspirations of elderly recyclables collectors, and to facilitate elderly employment programs and provide support for missing health and welfare services. ‘,
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, ‘According to the survey results, a total of 14,831 elderly individuals were engaged in collecting recyclables in 229 cities and counties nationwide.’,
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, ‘By region, Seoul had the highest number at 2,530, followed by Gyeonggi with 2,511, and Gyeongnam with 1,540. Sejong had the lowest at 24. ‘,
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, ‘The average age of elderly recyclables collectors was 78.1 years. ‘,
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, ‘By age group, the highest proportion was in the 80-84 age group at 28.2% (4,184 individuals), followed by 75-79 years at 25.2% (3,743 individuals). ‘,
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, ‘Females accounted for 55.3% of the participants, outnumbering males. ‘,
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, ‘The average monthly income was 766,000 won, and the average property was 120 million won. ‘,
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, ‘Based on the comprehensive survey results, the Ministry provided job opportunities to 4,787 (32.2%) out of the 14,831 elderly individuals. ‘,
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, “In terms of job types, ‘public service activities’ accounted for 3,430 (71.7%), ‘community service-oriented’ for 129 (2.7%), and ‘private sector’ for 1,228 (25.6%). “,
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, “Among them, participants in the ‘Resource Resource Recycling Project’ supporting recyclable activities received an average monthly salary of 373,000 won, which is reportedly 2.3 times higher than the income of 159,000 won from recyclable activities confirmed in December last year. “,
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, ‘Out of 14,594 recyclables collectors aged 65 and above, 13,086 were recipients of basic pensions. With a 89.7% coverage rate, it was 22.3 percentage points higher than the national average pension coverage rate of 67.4%. A total of 126 new basic pension recipients were identified through this survey.’,
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, ‘There were 4,219 beneficiaries of overall livelihood support, with a coverage rate of 28.4%. This figure is about 3.1 times higher than the 9.1% coverage rate for livelihood support for those aged 60 and above. A total of 157 new livelihood support recipients were identified through the survey. ‘,
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, ‘Additionally, there were 1,778 recipients of elderly care services, with 195 new potential beneficiaries identified through the survey. ‘,
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, ‘The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, “1,112 additional health and welfare services were provided to 947 individuals who were eligible but were not receiving support.” ‘,
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, ‘Deputy Minister of Welfare Lee Ki-il stated, “We will continue to provide necessary health and welfare services to ensure that elderly recyclables collectors can lead a healthy life in the community without being isolated from their neighbors.” ‘,
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