Guro-gu Launches 'G-Bro Project' Dementia Elderly Missing Person Response Drill

Seoul's First Autonomous District Conducts Dementia Elderly Missing Person Response Drill
Scheduled for May 8 at 2 PM at Gocheok Neighborhood Market, and June 13 at 2 PM at Deokil Electronics Technical High School

Missing Prevention Guardian Training Program

Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) is launching the dementia elderly missing person response simulation training called the ‘G-Bro Project’ in dementia-safe villages such as Guro 2-dong, Gocheok 2-dong, Oryu 2-dong, and Sugung-dong.

The ‘G-Bro Project’ aims to prepare for the increasing number of missing dementia elderly cases each year as society enters a super-aged stage by establishing a community response system to prevent disappearances and ensure the safe and swift return of missing individuals to their homes. This dementia elderly missing person simulation training is the first to be implemented by a district in Seoul.

Guro-gu entered a super-aged society in 2024, with an estimated 7,141 dementia patients aged 65 and older.

In particular, among the 322 missing person reports in Guro-gu in 2023, 138 involved dementia patients, accounting for 42.8% of all missing reports, highlighting the need for preparedness against dementia elderly disappearances.

Accordingly, starting this month, the district will conduct simulation training assuming dementia elderly missing scenarios, divided into market-type and experiential-type trainings.

The market-type simulation training targets market merchant associations and local residents, educating them on the characteristics of dementia patients and response guidelines. Then, assuming a missing person scenario, participants practice the entire process from discovering the missing elderly person to reporting to the police station and handing them over to their family, as if in a real situation.

The experiential-type simulation training is conducted at schools or institutions, where participants receive education about dementia and dementia patients, followed by activities such as searching for dementia wandering identification tags using a treasure hunt method and filling out report forms.

In addition to the Guro-gu Dementia Safety Center, the Guro Police Station participates by conducting a promotional campaign for pre-registration of fingerprints of dementia patients and providing police personnel support necessary for the simulation training.

The district plans to train about 400 people, including market merchant associations, students, and community leaders from the four dementia-safe villages, as dementia elderly missing prevention guardians.

These prevention guardians will learn about the behaviors and characteristics of dementia elderly, dementia elderly identification tags, and how to respond in case of disappearance, and will be responsible for providing safe care for dementia elderly within the community.

Mayor Moon Heon-il of Guro-gu said, “The dementia elderly missing person simulation training is effective in building a community safety net while raising social interest and awareness about dementia. We will take greater care to ensure that dementia patients and their families can live comfortably and safely within the community.”

Additionally, Guro-gu plans to conduct the market-type simulation training at Gocheok Neighborhood Market in Gocheok 2-dong at 2 p.m. on May 8, and the experiential-type simulation training at Deokil Electronics Technical High School at 2 p.m. on June 13.

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