SKT Enhances Customized Elderly Care Services with AI Technology

SK Telecom announced on the 15th that it has signed a business agreement with the Elderly Care Support Agency, the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone, to utilize 'NUGU Biz Call' for tasks such as checking on the elderly.

The Director of the Brown Rice Elderly Living Alone Comprehensive Support Center (right) and Eom Jong-hwan, SKT ESG Alliance Manager, are posing for a commemorative photo after attending the agreement ceremony held at the Yeouido Elderly Living Alone Comprehensive Support Center in Seoul.

Through this business agreement, SKT plans to provide a pilot service that enhances work efficiency by using the AI call platform 'NUGU Biz Call' to check the safety and well-being of elderly care service recipients and monitor the progress of care workers' duties.

Prior to signing the agreement, SKT and the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone conducted a pilot operation in December last year, making over 4,700 check-up calls using 'NUGU Biz Call' to prevent damage from winter cold waves and heavy snow. During this year's Lunar New Year holiday, they also confirmed the well-being of about 600 elderly and chronically ill individuals who could be at risk of safety blind spots.

The Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone, commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to support the Elderly Customized Care Service policy project, provides various tailored services to approximately 500,000 elderly people who require physical and emotional care, supporting their stable later life.

Additionally, for elderly populations with mobility difficulties and concerns about social isolation, the center offers specialized services that include safety checks, individual counseling, and mental health treatment support. The center employs about 2,000 dedicated social workers and approximately 30,000 care workers.

SKT and the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone plan to conduct heatwave and cold wave safety guideline notifications and AI well-being checks for 20,000 elderly care service recipients this year. If the effectiveness is verified, they intend to expand the service nationwide to all 500,000 elderly individuals.

Both parties will continue to advance the service to deliver timely and useful information to elderly care service recipients while reducing direct calls by care workers.

Kim Hyun-mi, Director of the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone, stated, "I hope digital technology will be developed and utilized more conveniently to help the elderly enjoy a happy later life."

Um Jong-hwan, Head of ESG Alliance at SK Telecom, said, “We will continue our efforts to ensure that SK Telecom’s AI and ICT technologies contribute to strengthening the social safety net for the elderly.”

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