SEOUL-- President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday visited the home of a senior citizen who lives alone and depends on welfare benefits, seeking to demonstrate his commitment to helping the socially vulnerable.

Yoon's visit with the 84-year-old woman came a week before the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, which runs from Sept. 9-12 this year and often leaves the weak and vulnerable feeling lonelier than usual.

The woman, identified only by her surname Eom, lives off of government subsidies in the Changsin-dong neighborhood of Seoul's Jongno Ward.

Yoon promised during the visit to expand tailored care services for the elderly so that the senior citizens who sacrificed themselves for the country's economic development can be healthy and safe, the presidential office said in a press release.

He also gave her gifts for Chuseok.

Yoon has repeatedly called for increasing support for the socially weak even if it comes at the cost of cutting expenditures in the public sector amid the ongoing economic challenges.

Before meeting with the senior citizen, Yoon visited the local community center in Changsin-dong and again spoke of the tragedy of the mother and her two daughters in Suwon who apparently took their own lives last month after struggling with illness and financial difficulties.

Yoon called for building a welfare system that identifies and supports all those who are struggling and promised to overhaul the legal and information systems that back it up.

He also stressed the importance of the role of social welfare workers in finding those households that need help, saying the government and the private sector, including local hospitals, banks and religious facilities, must come together to support them.

Source: Yonhap News Agency