Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member Kim Taegyun Demands Renaming of 'Godosaji Keepers' Group'

Kim Tae-gyun, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Kim Tae-gyun, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangyang 2), pointed out the decreasing trend of single elderly users in Jeonnam and the discomfort with the name ‘Godoksa Jikimidan’ (Lonely Death Watch Group), urging measures to revitalize service support and change the name.

According to Assemblyman Kim on the 17th, the number of users targeted by the Godoksa Jikimidan decreased from 2,502 at its launch in September 2016 to 2,004 (20% decrease) last year, and the number of members of the Jikimidan dropped from 2,552 in 2016 to 1,930 (24% decrease) last year.

In the administrative audit under the jurisdiction of the Health and Welfare Bureau, Assemblyman Kim stated, “Even among single-person households, there is a tendency to refuse service provision, viewing interest from others as a burden,” and “It is presumed that the number of users decreased because elderly people aged 65 or older are excluded from the service target due to overlapping support such as elderly care services and emergency safety services.”

He continued, “The Godoksa Jikimidan visits or calls elderly people aged 65 or older living alone and single-person households aged 40 or older, who are beyond the reach of care, to check on their well-being and act as companions or friends,” emphasizing, “Currently, social welfare services for middle-aged single-person households are relatively limited, and there are many difficulties in managing the target users.”

He also stressed, “Social welfare services for middle-aged single-person households are relatively limited, and there are many difficulties in managing the target users,” adding, “To supplement these institutional shortcomings, it is necessary to minimize welfare blind spots in the province and provide much interest and warm consideration for the elderly living alone, so measures to revitalize the use of the Godoksa Jikimidan should be devised.”

Furthermore, he demanded, “Since many users feel discomfort with the direct name ‘Godoksa Jikimidan,’ it is necessary to consider changing it to a softer and more friendly name such as ‘Eoreushin Jikimidan’ (Senior Watch Group) or ‘Eoreushin Dolbom Jikimidan’ (Senior Care Watch Group).”

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