Gangnam-gu Going Backwards?... Criticism Over Suspension of ‘Wealthy Gangnam-gu’ Single-Person Household Solitary Death Prevention Project in Less Than a Year

Sent Official Notice to Halt Multi-Box System Pilot, Developed Nationwide First to Prevent Elderly Solitary Deaths, Within a Year... Gangnam Mayor Joseongmyeong Undermines 'Green Smart City Gangnam' Slogan of 8th Term

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Criticism is rising as Gangnam-gu has decided to halt the digital care ‘Anbu Anshim Cube’ (Multi-box System) project, developed to respond to the sudden deaths of elderly living alone or single-person households, less than a year after its pilot implementation.

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) was the first in the nation to install and operate the Multi-box (M-BOX) system to detect crisis situations targeting vulnerable groups in the area, capturing movements within homes to efficiently manage elderly living alone, severely ill patients, and other single-person households.

The district developed the system last year and has been running a pilot since January this year to prevent sudden incidents involving vulnerable groups and single-person households in our society, such as the Songpa three mothers and Suwon three mothers cases.

Despite frequent home visits by welfare officers, it was regrettable that news of deaths among elderly living alone or single-person households was often learned through media reports or police rather than community centers. To address this, an integrated management system was established using a smart multi-box within homes that detects movement via wired and wireless internet servers.

The ‘Multi-box’ system is designed in the form of a general desktop clock, with sensors attached to frequently used areas such as the master bedroom, entrance, and bathroom doors to detect and notify movements. It is a device that detects and alerts about dangerous situations involving severely ill patients and solitary single-person households.

Instead of difficult-to-read mobile text messages for elderly people, the system provides easy-to-understand voice guidance to convey welfare and district news. Users can ask questions through the reply button on top of the installed desktop clock and by calling the person in charge. Additionally, it offers various information such as lunar calendar dates and weather according to the elderly’s preferences, with an alarm function to assist daily life.

Especially, the SOS button function to call the person in charge or directly connect to 119 in case of health emergencies is its greatest advantage.

Moreover, even when the person in charge is on an external business trip, they can frequently check absence and well-being via mobile phone. The system automatically accumulates history management, so there is no need for separate record-keeping even when there are personnel changes or gaps due to social welfare staff transfers.

Gangnam-gu is conducting the pilot in Yeoksam 1-dong and Nonhyeon 2-dong, which have the highest number of single-person households in the area, and plans to improve any issues found during implementation.

However, controversy is expected as the system is being terminated before it is fully established.

On the 19th, Gangnam-gu sent an official letter stating the termination of the project after gathering opinions from six people, including the community center staff for single-person households and the district officers in charge of Yeoksam 1-dong (15 households) and Nonhyeon 2-dong (15 households), where the system is being piloted.

The budget is only 30,000 KRW per household per month, totaling just 75 million KRW for five months for 50 households (planned for Yeoksam 1 & 2-dong and Nonhyeon 1 & 2-dong), which is negligible compared to Gangnam-gu’s budget exceeding 1 trillion KRW.

In particular, despite Mayor Jo Seong-myeong setting ‘Green Smart City Gangnam’ as the policy direction for the 8th elected term, the project is being halted less than a year after its start due to opposition from some staff, sparking controversy.

A Gangnam-gu official said, “As solitary death has become a social issue, the Multi-box system piloted by Gangnam-gu is a very good device and a necessary project from the perspective of the community center. The budget is also minimal, so it is very regrettable to stop it.”

Accordingly, residents are expected to oppose the sudden termination of this project.

It is known that if Gangnam-gu abandons the project, it plans to propose its operation to other Seoul districts such as nearby Songpa-gu.

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