Yongsan-gu Establishes 'Care Service Cooperation Group'

Dolbom SOS Center Expands to 6 Major Services... Adds 'Housing Convenience' and 'Mind Care' Services... Service Agencies Increased by 3 (Total 18)

On the 11th, the Care SOS Project Service Agency Agreement Ceremony and Care Service Cooperation Group Appointment Ceremony were held at the Yongsan District Office.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yongsan-gu (Mayor Seongjang Hyun) is expanding the Care SOS Center services from the existing 4 major services to 6 major services.

On the 11th, the district held a ‘Care SOS Project Service Institution Agreement Ceremony’ at the mayor’s office and signed agreements with two organizations, Deulbeoreohamkke Architecture Cooperative (CEO Han Donghwa) and Yongsan Regional Self-Support Center (Center Director Shin Minjeong), to provide care services.

Additionally, Yongsan Social Economy Integrated Support Center (Center Director Kim Miseon) was appointed as the ‘Care Service Cooperation Group,’ an intermediary organization between the public and private sectors for the Care SOS Project.

Together with these organizations, the district will provide residents with ‘housing convenience’ services such as simple home repairs, major cleaning, and disinfection, as well as ‘emotional care’ services to help with emotional stability.

The focus is on residential and psychological quarantine in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation.

With this, the district’s Care SOS services have increased to six types. The number of service providers has also increased from 15 to 18.

The district started the Care SOS Center project last month. It first introduced services such as ‘temporary home care,’ which involves visiting the homes of target families to provide care; ‘short-term facility admission’ to assist with temporary facility stays; ‘meal support’ delivering meals; and ‘information counseling’ for care-related issues.

The service recipients are residents aged 50 or older in the area who require care or persons with disabilities. The costs are 37,780 KRW for temporary home care (based on 2 hours), 70,990 KRW for short-term facility admission (per day), 7,800 KRW for meal support (per meal), 14,600 KRW for housing convenience (per hour), and information counseling and emotional care are free of charge.

Households with income below 85% of the median income can use all necessary services free of charge up to a limit of 1.56 million KRW per person. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the district is temporarily providing the same free services to households with income below 100% of the median income. Those exceeding 100% of the median income can use the services with self-payment if needed.

Residents wishing to use the services can apply at their local community service center. The district visits the target households, establishes customized care plans, and provides services suitable for the users. However, users who bear the cost themselves must prepay the applicable amount.

To ensure smooth project implementation, in July the district created a Care Support Task Force (TF) within the Welfare Policy Division, assigning four public officials including the team leader (also the Welfare Planning Team Leader) and four contract workers. The main tasks of the TF include identifying care blind spots, on-site visits, and service linkage.

Next year, a dedicated Care Support Team will be newly established within the Welfare Policy Division to manage the project exclusively.

Along with this, there are plans to innovate 16 community service centers into ‘integrated care service counters.’

Seongjang Hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Following the pilot Care SOS Center project started last month, we are expanding services from this month. The full-scale Care SOS Center project for all residents will begin in the second half of next year.”

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