'Shin Sang-jin, Mayor of Seongnam, Visiting Bundang Police Station: "Judicial Hospitalization System for Mental Illness Must Be Introduced"'

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin is visiting Bundang Police Station on the 6th to discuss measures related to the recent AK Plaza accident.

Shin Sang-jin, mayor of Seongnam City, has actively taken measures to support the victims of the weapon rampage at AK Plaza near Seohyeon Station and to ensure citizen safety through prevention and countermeasures.

On the 6th, Mayor Shin visited the Bundang Police Station and stated, "Following the weapon rampage at Sillim Station and the stabbing incident at Seohyeon Station, these indiscriminate attacks on random citizens that shock the world should not be dealt with in a reactive, after-the-fact manner." He emphasized, "Especially for patients diagnosed with mental illnesses who have stopped treatment, it is necessary for local governments, police, and the medical community to cooperate to ensure they receive treatment and management as a preventive measure."

On the same day, the Bundang Police Station proposed receiving information about those who have discontinued mental illness treatment from public health centers to utilize in crime prevention activities and requested an increase in subsidies for the Crime Victim Support Center, which operates under the 'Crime Victim Protection Act.'

Mayor Shin argued that to implement effective measures such as hospitalization for some severe mental illness patients who pose a risk of committing violent crimes, a 'judicial hospitalization system' should be introduced.

The judicial hospitalization system is a system where a judge orders the hospitalization of a severe mental illness patient. Hospitalization of mental illness patients is primarily voluntary based on the patient's consent, but if the patient refuses hospitalization, involuntary hospitalization is carried out.

He also promised that if it is difficult to prepare the related legal and institutional frameworks soon, Seongnam City will actively seek what can be done at the local government level.

To this end, Seongnam City proposed that related organizations such as the Seongnam Medical Association, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, and the police sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and collaborate to devise preventive response measures.

Earlier, on the 3rd, immediately after the incident, Seongnam City began providing disaster psychological support to citizens who witnessed the scene and were shocked through the Bundang-gu Public Health Center.

Mayor Shin said, "The Seongnam Mental Health Welfare Center has posted banners around the Seohyeon Station area providing information on psychological counseling and support, and is actively promoting this through the city’s website and social networking services (SNS)." He added, "Regarding real-time CCTV monitoring, we will actively review solutions including related legal amendments."

Meanwhile, on the 4th, Seongnam City held a meeting with the Bundang Police Station and related agencies regarding victim support to discuss victim assistance and actively cooperate with police security activities.

At the meeting, they discussed identifying and reviewing victim support through the Crime Victim Support Center, providing emergency living expenses to victims who qualify based on income and property criteria, support for funeral expenses for the deceased, additional support such as donations, and psychological counseling and mental health support for victims and witnesses.

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