Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, on the 12th announced welfare pledges including "Stepping-stone Income 2.0."
On this day, candidate Oh met citizens who benefited from welfare policies implemented during the previous term at Seoul Welfare Town in Gongdeok-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Afterward, Oh announced welfare pledges related to areas such as income and education.
The core of this pledge is "Stepping-stone Income 2.0." It would provide 800,000–1.1 million won per month for two years to households at or below 100% of the median income, including family caregiving youth and low-income single-parent and children with developmental disabilities households.
Oh said, "Stepping-stone Income is a program that a Nobel laureate in economics highly praised, saying, 'Even if I had designed it, I would have done it like Stepping-stone Income,'" adding, "Over the next four years, we will broaden the beneficiaries of Stepping-stone Income."
He also outlined a plan to expand the beneficiaries of "Seoul Learn," an education ladder policy introduced in 2021, to the bottom 70% by median income.
Oh said, "Seoul Learn allows anyone to take online, free lectures by top star instructors, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government covers the cost of the lecture materials," adding, "Since its introduction in 2021, it has been benchmarked nationwide, including in Gangwon Province, Gimpo and Incheon."
He added, "Seoul Learn has produced an effect of reducing monthly private education expenses by an average of 350,000 won," and said, "We will restore the broken ladder through education."
Citizens attending the event shared their impressions of participating in Seoul's welfare policies. Lee Ju-bin, a family caregiving youth, said, "When I was 20, my father developed a brain disease, so I came up to Seoul and have been caregiving for nine years," adding, "I have had few experiences spending money on myself, but thanks to the Seoul Welfare Foundation, I received support for a health checkup and had my first-ever checkup in my life."
Oh said, "I believe you shared your difficult experiences out of a desire for Seoul to become a city where the ladder of social mobility is restored and polarization is eased," adding, "We will work to ensure that each year, more people can experience these policies."