BGF Retail Signs 'Missing Prevention Agreement for Dementia Patients' with Ministry of Health and Welfare

Lee Geon-jun, CEO of BGF Retail (right), and Yang Seong-il, 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, are posing for a commemorative photo of the business agreement to prevent missing dementia patients.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] BGF Retail announced on the 25th that it signed a "Joint Cooperation Agreement for the Prevention of Missing Dementia Patients and Early Detection" with the Ministry of Health and Welfare the day before.

The purpose of this business agreement is to strengthen the infrastructure to protect missing dementia patients by utilizing more than 15,000 CU stores nationwide. Nationwide CU franchise stores will serve as "Dementia Safe Convenience Stores," reporting and temporarily protecting missing dementia (suspected) patients when found.

In addition, BGF Retail plans to produce content that details the criteria for judgment and reporting methods upon discovery to enable early detection of missing dementia patients and provide guidance to franchise stores nationwide. Furthermore, it will jointly carry out public campaigns with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to promote finding missing elderly people and to improve public awareness and prevention of dementia.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will actively promote the system to nationwide Dementia Safety Centers so that dementia patients and their caregivers can receive immediate help through "I CU" in crisis situations, and will plan public interest campaigns combined with convenience stores to raise national interest in dementia patients.

The I CU campaign, which BGF Retail has been continuing since 2017, is an abbreviation of "I Care for yoU." It is a public-private cooperation system where CU’s POS system is used to report and temporarily protect vulnerable groups needing protection, such as missing children and abused children, until they are handed over to the police.

Yang Sung-il, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, after personally demonstrating the I CU system, said, "I was impressed by the fact that anyone, regardless of age or gender, can easily access and that the convenience store infrastructure is always brightly open, allowing for quick and close monitoring of citizen safety." He added, "Taking this business agreement as an opportunity, we will actively seek ways to maximize the social safety net effect of convenience stores and utilize it for public interest."

BGF Retail CEO Lee Geonjun said, "CU plays a vital role as a safety net in the community, always close to customers like a good friend." He added, "Taking this business agreement as an opportunity, we will work together with nationwide CU franchise stores so that more people can recognize the I CU campaign and contribute to the prevention of missing dementia elderly and early detection."

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