Yangcheon-gu 'Smart Jikimi and Safe Kkalchang' Secure Golden Time for Missing Dementia Patients

Yangcheon-gu Distributes Location-Tracking Smart Guardians and Insoles to 558 People with Developmental Disabilities and Dementia... Securing Golden Time for Missing Person Rescue! Early Resolution of 7 Missing Cases Since July... U-Yangcheon Integrated Control Center and Yangcheon Police Station Establish Missing Prevention and Early Detection System

Photo of the scene where a missing person was quickly found through Smart Guardian (Provided by Yangcheon Police Station)

Wristwatch-type smart guardian and Safe insoles distributed by Yangcheon-gu

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Sooyoung) is gaining attention as the ‘Smart Keeper · Safe Insole,’ which has been actively distributed since last July to prevent disappearances of people with developmental disabilities and dementia patients, is showing remarkable results in the early discovery of missing persons.

Yangcheon-gu has been operating a distribution project since April through the Seoul Smart City contest, providing a watch-type smart keeper with a built-in GPS tracker and a Safe Insole that can be used in combination with it.

The district provided the smart keeper and Safe Insole free of charge to 558 individuals recommended by local welfare facilities for the disabled, the Yangcheon-gu Dementia Safety Center, and the Yangcheon Police Station to prevent disappearances.

Additionally, to operate the smart keeper project systematically, Yangcheon-gu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Yangcheon Police Station in June to prevent and search for missing persons with developmental disabilities and dementia. Through this, they have continuously worked to protect vulnerable groups by linking a real-time location tracking integrated platform control system with the U-Yangcheon Integrated Control Center in case of emergencies.

These efforts by Yangcheon-gu have shown truly remarkable effects at missing person search sites.

On August 4, during the height of the heatwave, a missing report was received for a 90-year-old dementia patient. It was an urgent situation where the elderly person could collapse due to the heat. Fortunately, by checking the location value through the Safe Insole embedded in the elderly person’s shoes, they were safely returned to their family within 40 minutes of the report.

The following day, on the evening of August 6 around 10 p.m., another disappearance of an 80-year-old dementia patient occurred, but by tracking the location through the previously distributed smart keeper, the elderly person was found within 15 minutes of the search. The guardian of the elderly person, Ms. Shim (50, female), expressed her gratitude, saying, “The care issue for dementia patients, which was entirely the family’s responsibility, is now supported by Yangcheon-gu and the Yangcheon Police Station through the smart keeper, which gives me great peace of mind.”

According to the Missing Persons Investigation Team of the Yangcheon Police Station (Chief Seo Jeongsun), when wearing the GPS-traceable smart keeper and Safe Insole, the location of most missing persons can be confirmed and found within one hour. This significantly shortens the average 44.5 hours it usually takes to find dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities after disappearance incidents, which typically require the deployment of 32.3 police officers for the search. In fact, since Yangcheon-gu began distributing the smart keeper and Safe Insole in July, a total of seven disappearance cases have been resolved early through location tracking.

In Yangcheon-gu, among the 467 disappearance cases over the past three years, 190 cases (41%) involved people with developmental disabilities, and 277 cases (59%) involved dementia patients. Especially since simple wandering or disappearance of people with developmental disabilities and dementia patients can lead to fatal outcomes, the free distribution of safety devices (smart keeper, Safe Insole) by Yangcheon-gu carries significant implications.

For additional applications and detailed information about the smart keeper and Safe Insole, please contact the Self-Reliance Support Division.

Kim Sooyoung, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “Securing the golden time is the most important factor in disappearance cases involving dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities. I am truly proud that the smart keeper and Safe Insole, distributed free of charge by Yangcheon-gu, have achieved visible results in the early resolution of disappearance cases. Going forward, we will continue to prepare systematic support measures with a sense of mission to save lives, so that families of dementia patients and people with developmental disabilities can live safely in Yangcheon-gu.”

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