Yongsan-gu Dolbom SOS Center Expanded to 9 Services

Expanded to 9 Major Services from April 1... Available for Middle-Aged, Seniors, and Disabled Aged 50+... Service Providers Increased to 32 Locations

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) will additionally provide the Care SOS Center accompaniment support service starting April 1.

The Care SOS Center is an institution that provides emergency care services to middle-aged and elderly people aged 50 and over, seniors, and persons with disabilities who need help due to sudden illness, accidents, and other emergencies.

Since last year, the district has been promoting the center’s preliminary projects, offering residents eight major services: ▲temporary home care ▲short-term facility ▲meal support ▲housing convenience ▲information counseling ▲mental care ▲disinfection and cleaning ▲laundry.

With this service expansion, the total number of services has increased to nine.

Temporary home care and short-term facility services are suitable for temporary crisis situations. Service providers contracted with the district visit the homes of eligible individuals to provide care or support short-term facility admission.

The newly established accompaniment support service, along with existing meal support, housing convenience, disinfection and cleaning, and laundry services, help recipients overcome difficulties in daily life such as visiting hospitals or preparing meals.

The center can be used when all three of the following conditions are met: it is difficult to move alone or live independently; there is no family member who can provide care or they are unable to do so; public care services are not used or there is an unavoidable gap in service.

Fees vary: temporary home care costs 48,170 KRW (based on 3 hours), short-term facility 58,070 KRW (per day), meal support 7,800 KRW (per meal), etc. Low-income residents such as recipients of basic livelihood security, near-poor, and those with median income at or below 85% (temporarily 100%) receive full cost support from the district. The maximum annual support per person is 1.58 million KRW.

Residents exceeding 100% of median income can use the services with self-payment.

Residents wishing to apply for services can inquire at their local community service center or the district’s Care SOS Center (Welfare Policy Division, Care Support Team).

A district official said, “In the first quarter alone, 163 people used the service 212 times. Since we provide essential care services quickly, the response from residents has been very positive.”

The district continues to increase service providers. In February, three organizations including Yongsan Regional Self-Support Center’s Hue Laundry, Seoul-ro Village Doctor, and Dasari Cooperative signed agreements; in March, eight organizations including Yongsan Home Care Support Center, Cheonsarang Senior Welfare Center, and Severe Disability Independent Living Alliance joined.

As of the end of March, there are a total of 32 service providers: 9 for temporary home care, 6 for short-term facilities, 5 for meal support, 4 for housing convenience, and 8 for accompaniment support.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “The main project of the Care SOS Center will begin as early as the end of this year. We will discover and expand support for service recipients in blind spots centered on community service centers.”

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