Strengthening Government Control Tower to Overcome 'Disaster Trauma'

Expansion of 'Gukga Trauma Center' Functions and Workforce
Additional Metropolitan City and Province Centers Established

On the 1st, during the national mourning period following the Itaewon large-scale crush disaster, citizens are receiving counseling at the Itaewon Accident Psychological Support Counseling Center set up in Seoul Plaza. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] In disaster situations like the Itaewon tragedy, the government is strengthening the control tower that manages disaster trauma and will additionally establish regional trauma centers to provide psychological support to bereaved families and the injured.

On the morning of the 10th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported the "Itaewon Incident Trauma-Psychological Support Enhancement Plan" at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Government Sejong Complex.

First, to establish a disaster trauma response system, the Ministry decided to assign the National Trauma Center at the National Mental Health Center the role of the national control tower for disaster psychology. The National Trauma Center will also expand its workforce to operate the metropolitan trauma response team.

Additional metropolitan trauma centers will be established in metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. Currently, trauma treatment institutions by region are only installed in four national hospitals: National Gongju Hospital, National Naju Hospital, National Bugok Hospital, and National Chuncheon Hospital.

Mental health welfare centers established in each basic local government will also have their disaster psychological support functions formalized to function as trauma response institutions, securing personnel responsible for psychological support during disasters as well as crisis counseling hotlines during normal times.

Along with this, the Ministry plans to continuously provide dedicated psychological counseling and monitoring through trauma centers for the bereaved families and injured of the Itaewon tragedy. In cases requiring in-depth management, they will be immediately connected with mental health specialists to receive home visits, telephone counseling, and treatment, and if there are medical or economic needs during counseling, they will be linked to a one-stop integrated support center. Since the 30th of last month until now, a total of 2,766 psychological counseling sessions have been provided to bereaved families and the injured.

If in-depth management is needed for eyewitnesses at the scene through the mental counseling hotline, they will be connected to the basic mental health welfare centers for expert in-depth counseling. On-site response personnel such as firefighters, police, and medical staff will also conduct "visiting trauma group counseling" and individual psychological counseling simultaneously.

Disaster trauma education for the general public will also be conducted at schools and workplaces. "Visiting trauma education" will be provided to schools and workplaces where those who have experienced disaster trauma belong, and a "psychological support integrated platform" linked with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Trauma Center websites will be established to provide information on trauma and self-diagnosis methods.

Separately from trauma support, the Ministry currently assigns two Ministry of Health and Welfare staff members per patient for seriously injured patients and one staff member per medical institution for minor injuries to support the treatment of the injured. Among the 156 deceased so far, except for three foreign nationals, all have completed domestic funeral procedures and repatriation to their home countries.

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