SK Hynix Partners with Ministry of Health and Welfare and National Police Agency to Strengthen Happiness GPS Project

Data provided by SK Hynix

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] On the 2nd, SK Hynix announced that it signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency at the Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, to provide free distribution of 'wandering detectors' to prevent missing dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities, and plans to distribute 5,000 units of Happy GPS this year.

This project is a social contribution activity in which SK Hynix provides wrist-worn location tracking devices called wandering detectors (Happy GPS) free of charge and supports communication fees to prevent missing dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities. Through the 'Happy Sharing Fund' voluntarily established by SK Hynix members, about 20,000 units of Happy GPS were distributed by the end of last year.

Previously, in August 2017, SK Hynix signed the 'First Business Agreement for the Prevention and Rapid Discovery of Missing Dementia Patients' with the National Police Agency and began missing prevention activities. Since starting the Happy GPS project, 477 missing dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities have been able to return home, and the average time to find them was reduced from 12.2 hours, the average time to find missing persons, to 55 minutes, the company explained.

Starting this year, the project will be further strengthened by collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which establishes and implements policies related to dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities. Specifically, ▲ SK Hynix plans the project and provides Happy GPS free of charge through the Happy Sharing Fund ▲ The Ministry of Health and Welfare selects recipients and distributes and manages Happy GPS through the Central Dementia Center (Dementia Safety Center) and the Central Developmental Disability Support Center (Regional Centers) under its jurisdiction ▲ The National Police Agency is responsible for searching and finding missing persons using Happy GPS.

On this day, the three organizations appointed actor Park In-hwan as the 'Ambassador for the Prevention of Missing Vulnerable Groups.' Park will participate in events commemorating Missing Children's Day (May 25) and Dementia Overcoming Day (September 21), among others, and join promotional activities for the Happy GPS project and missing prevention.

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said, "The risk of going missing comes without warning, so it is important to establish a dense social safety net that can prevent it and respond quickly when situations occur," adding, "I hope various safety services utilizing information and communication technology will expand to protect vulnerable groups."

National Police Agency Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong emphasized, "The free distribution of wandering detectors is a project with high satisfaction among recipients and their families because it reduces anxiety about going missing," and said, "We will do our best to ensure that all citizens can live safely from the risk of going missing by collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, SK Hynix, and local communities."

Kim Yoon-wook, Vice President in charge of Sustainability Management at SK Hynix, said, "We hope the Happy GPS project will become a successful model of public-private cooperation contributing to the establishment of a social safety net," and added, "We will continue to support the prevention of missing dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities."

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