Yangcheon-gu Prevents Solitary Deaths with 'Smart Plug'

Detecting Single-Person Household Activities by Power Usage of Frequently Used Appliances...Sending Risk Messages to Welfare Planners if No Power Change for a Certain Time...Supporting Additional Installation for 300 Middle-Aged Single-Person Households by Year-End

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) has decided to install smart plugs in single middle-aged households by the end of this December to expand the safety net for socially isolated households.

The smart plug is a care system incorporating Internet of Things (IOT) technology that detects daily activities by connecting to the power supply of various devices frequently used in single-person households such as TVs, computers, rice cookers, and coffee pots, monitoring their electricity usage.

Recently, a 60-year-old woman with a son with developmental disabilities was found dead five months after her death in a multi-family house in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, raising calls for strengthened management of vulnerable groups.

Especially, due to difficulties in visiting welfare services caused by COVID-19, concerns about care gaps are increasing.

The smart plugs to be installed by Yangcheon-gu can indirectly check on the well-being of vulnerable groups by monitoring the electricity usage of home appliances over time.

The smart plug system sends a risk message to the welfare planner at the local community service center if there is no change in power consumption for a certain period. The welfare planner, detecting abnormalities in advance, confirms the safety of the individual through phone calls or visits and takes appropriate measures.

This system has been distributed and operated for elderly living alone aged 65 and over in Yangcheon-gu since 2019, but this time it will be additionally provided to single middle-aged households in welfare blind spots.

The district plans to identify recipients through recommendations from local community service centers and support two smart plugs per household for a total of 300 households.

According to a district official, smart plugs provide safety checks through non-face-to-face methods in the COVID-19 era, eliminating infection concerns, and have received positive responses due to low resistance regarding privacy invasion among beneficiary households.

Meanwhile, from December, the district continues efforts to prevent solitary deaths of elderly living alone in cooperation with the incorporated association ‘Milk Delivery Asking About the Elderly’s Well-being.’

Currently, milk is delivered to 150 low-income elderly living alone households in the area, and delivery workers interpret milk piled up at the door as a signal of abnormal symptoms regarding the elderly’s well-being and immediately contact the welfare planner at the local community service center.

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, stated, “With the sharp increase in single-person households and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a new social safety net is needed.” He added, “We will build a non-face-to-face well-being check service incorporating various ideas such as smart technology to create a ‘Yangcheon without solitary deaths.’”

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