Seodaemun-gu Accelerates Formation of Welfare Safety Net to Address Care Gaps in Post-Corona Era

Signed Business Agreement with 25 Organizations and Dolbom SOS Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) signed a business agreement with 25 care service providers for the ‘Care SOS Center’ project, which will begin pilot operation this month.

The target institutions include ▲19 home long-term care institutions such as Yeomin Welfare Cooperative ▲2 disability activity support service providers such as Seodaemun Sunshine Disabled Independent Living Center ▲4 meal support service providers such as Seodaemun Senior Club.

According to the agreement, these institutions will provide customized services to residents who need temporary and urgent care in blind spots of existing care services.

At the signing ceremony held on the 5th of this month in the large conference room of the district office, Moon Seok-jin, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, stated, “We will actively support the Care SOS Center service providers so that residents who truly need care can ‘continue to live healthily in the place where they have lived.’”

Kim Yong-kwang, CEO of Yeomin Welfare Cooperative, the representative institution of the Seodaemun-gu Care Service Cooperation Group (Our Neighborhood Sharing Leader), said, “We expect the Care SOS Center project to serve as a hub for community-integrated care through public-private communication and cooperation,” adding, “We will strive to provide services that residents can trust and use with peace of mind.”

Seodaemun-gu’s ‘Care SOS Center’ provides care services to the elderly, disabled, and middle-aged people aged 50 and over who need care. When care services are applied for through the community service center, a care manager from the district office’s regional care team visits the home, establishes a care plan according to the user’s needs, and connects them to service providers.

The support includes four types: ▲temporary home care (services that assist residents with mobility difficulties in daily life) ▲short-term facility admission ▲meal support ▲information counseling services.

Low-income residents (recipients, near-poverty) and those with income below 85% of the median income receive free support up to an annual limit of 1.56 million KRW. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seoul-type emergency welfare support criteria have been relaxed, and cost support is temporarily provided to those with income below 100% of the median income.

Residents who do not fall within this range can use care services with self-payment. Information counseling services are non-face-to-face services directly provided by care managers, offering one-stop information and consultation on various care services.

The Seodaemun-gu Care SOS Center project will expand to eight types of services from January 2021, including accompaniment support, housing convenience, health support, and safety checks, and the support target will be fully expanded to all residents.

Also, care managers composed of social workers and nurses will be assigned to all 14 community service centers, and in the post-COVID-19 era, the district-level Care SOS Centers are expected to establish themselves as hubs of the local integrated care system.

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