보건복지부 영문홈페이지

“Jagalchi Lady” becomes the director of a social company through a self-supporting program

-       The Ministry of Health and Welfare presented meritorious awards to individuals with success stories and photos regarding their self-support program experiences in 2012 –

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Rim Chaemin) held a ceremony at the Press Center on the 14^th (Fri.) to award outstanding individuals, and people on their success stories and photos regarding self-supporting programs in the year 2012.

 (* A self-supporting program is part of a government-run program to help social minorities or people who are having financial difficulties by offering opportunities to work and eventually be able to make a living on their own.)

Ju Bosoon, director of Clean Care Corp. which is a social company located in Busan, was appointed as the fourth master of the self-supporting program. After her husband’s death in 2002, she began making a living to support her two sons, one a university student with cerebral palsy and the other a high school student, by delivering food at restaurants and other part-time jobs.

She first joined the self-supporting program beginning with a cleaning job in February, 2004. With enthusiasm and sincerity, she completed the three-year self-supporting program, and went on to establish her own business. As a representative of the company, she has shown great leadership and successfully led the company for three years.

In April, 2010, she participated in establishing the Clean Care Corp. which is certified as a self-supporting company by the Busan provincial government, and she played a pivotal role in making the company a social company in October, 2011. Acknowledged as being a good model for other participants in the self-supporting program and having great business management skills, she is now working as the director of the company.

Ju Bosoon has shown the true potential of middle-aged woman by presenting a successful example of the self-supporting program: participating in the self-supporting program -> setting up a self-supporting company -> receiving certification by the provincial government as a self-supporting company.

The ceremony also awarded officials who have made efforts for the successful settlement of the self-supporting program in the private sector, such as local self-supporting centers, participants of the Heemang Kium Bank (“hope-growing bank” in Korean), and officials of the Heemang (“hope” in Korean) Ribbon and Heemang Kium Tongjang (“hope-growing bank account” in Korean).

Hana Bank, a business partner of the Heemang Kium Tongjang which is aimed to help low-income families build up their assets, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sponsor the hope-growing bank account program with 10 billion won over a three year period, and cooperating with the self-supporting program to support people in the low-income bracket by providing financial education programs.

In addition, a photo contest was held for the first time, which selected photos showing various aspects of program participants and scenes of the self-supporting program. The grand prize was given to the photo “A window of hope reflected in the sky” presented by Byeon Sangmin, a manager of the self-supporting center in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province.