Yoon visits community center for senior citizens ahead of Lunar New Year

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a community center for senior citizens Wednesday to wish them a happy Lunar New Year and look at ways to improve welfare services for the elderly, his office said.

Yoon had instructed the government last month to carry out a full-scale survey of unregistered senior citizens' community centers upon learning that one such facility was running on three coal briquettes.

During his visit to the center in northern Seoul, which is also unregistered, Yoon promised the senior citizens he would work to ensure they have healthy and comfortable lives, including by providing unregistered facilities with emergency government funding for heating and food.

He also pledged to change the criteria for a senior citizens' community center to make more of them eligible for registration and government assistance.

Under current laws, a community center is required to have at least 20 members, separate bathrooms for men and women, spaces for joint use and a living room of at least 20 square meters.

According to a survey quoted by the health ministry, there are around 1,600 unregistered senior citizens' community centers across the country, used by some 23,000 elderly people, the presidential office said.

hague@yna.co.kr
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