Why Was Seongdong-gu Selected as an Outstanding Local Government for Identifying Welfare Blind Spots?

Ministry of Health and Welfare Commends 2,482 Residents for 'Juju Salpimi' Activities in Identifying Welfare Blind Spots... Residents Directly Discover Hidden At-Risk Households, Conduct Comprehensive Surveys Using Big Data to Intensify Welfare Blind Spot Detection

Residents of Seongdong-gu are stepping up to identify vulnerable households in welfare blind spots facing difficulties.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] “My grandmother suddenly collapsed and was hospitalized... but two grandchildren were left alone at home.”

In November last year, as the cold weather set in, a message appeared on Seongdong-gu’s SNS ‘Seongdong Neighbors Care’.

The message was sent by Kim Hee-soon, the head of Haengdang-dong (54), who is active as a Jujusalpimi (residents caring for residents). Due to the grandmother’s sudden illness and hospitalization, there was concern for the young grandchildren left alone at home.

The district office’s emergency support team for vulnerable households and integrated case managers were immediately dispatched. Three Jujusalpimi were assigned as guardians for the children, and coordinated with the elementary after-school care center and Care SOS Center to manage their daily lives. For the hospitalized grandmother, a caregiver was connected through emergency support.

Seongdong-gu (District Mayor Jung Won-oh) appointed 2,482 residents, including welfare heads, as honorary social welfare officers called ‘Jujusalpimi’ in February last year. They act as resident caregivers who, 365 days a year, immediately report via SNS when they encounter neighbors in difficulty at their workplace or nearby, enabling the district’s emergency support.

Households in crisis are organically linked to immediate case management through the ongoing discovery activities of Jujusalpimi.

On the 17th, these efforts were recognized when the district received the Minister of Health and Welfare’s institutional award as an excellent local government in the ‘2019 Winter Welfare Blind Spot Discovery and Support’ category.

In addition to Jujusalpimi activities, from November last year to February this year, during the intensive winter welfare blind spot discovery period, a full survey was conducted on 1,296 households living in boarding houses and motels and those paying small health insurance premiums, discovering 397 vulnerable households through active efforts.

A district official said, “Hidden welfare blind spot crises continue, as seen in last year’s Seongbuk-gu four-women incident, so efforts to try and explore various methods to discover welfare blind spots are more important than ever. Last month, using Seoul City’s disaster emergency living expense big data, a full survey was conducted on 28,187 single-person households with no income or within 50% of the median income standard, focusing on discovering and supporting those whose lives have become difficult due to reduced summer work and COVID-19.”

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “I am pleased that the efforts of the Jujusalpimi who have worked for vulnerable households in the community and the active work of our staff have been recognized. Although the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has made face-to-face contact difficult and discovering blind spots challenging, we will do our best to build a multi-faceted network for discovering vulnerable households and provide thorough and meticulous management.”

The moment of presenting the appointment letter at the Shareholder Observer inauguration ceremony last February

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.