Youth Mental Health Counseling Feared for Stigma... Seoul City and Education Office Join Hands for Integrated Support

Seoul City and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education... Memorandum of Understanding on 'Youth Mental Health Project'
Youth Counseling Welfare Center Expands Experts to Transition to 'Regular Counseling'
One-Stop Psychological Support Established in Schools... Customized Counseling and Recovery
Formation of 'Seoul Youth Mental Health Policy Council' with Central Government Agencies

#. The leading cause of death among teenagers, people in their 20s, and 30s in South Korea, as announced by the government last October, is suicide. Notably, the suicide rate among teenagers is the only one that has increased across all age groups. The government points to economic and mental difficulties following COVID-19 as the background for the rise in suicide rates. On the other hand, the utilization rate of mental health services among adolescents is only 4%. Although a red light has been lit on the mental health of young people, they are not receiving proper services for fear of being stigmatized.

Reflecting this reality, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to convert the currently night and weekend-only operation of Youth Counseling and Welfare Centers into full-time counseling by 2026. The 'Mind Counseling Centers,' which can be conveniently used in neighborhoods at any time, will also be expanded from 11 locations (9 districts) to all autonomous districts, with counseling fees supported. They also plan to operate customized telephone counseling and establish a crisis response system for incidents occurring within schools.

To this end, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education will sign a 'Youth Mental Health Project Business Agreement' on the morning of the 17th. As part of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's 'Loneliness-Free Seoul' initiative, which aims to invest 450 billion KRW by 2028 to solve issues of loneliness, isolation, and withdrawal, the core is 'Integrated Support for Youth Mental Health.'

On the 17th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Seoul Superintendent of Education Jeong Geun-sik attended the 'Youth Mental Health Project' business agreement ceremony held at Seoul City Hall. Photo by Seoul City.

Through this agreement, the two institutions will invest 20.2 billion KRW over two years to ▲expand counseling accessibility ▲operate one-stop counseling and evaluation within schools and strengthen crisis response ▲enhance the professionalism of counseling personnel ▲and establish a support system. The goal is to enable young people to detect and receive treatment for mental health issues early without feeling stigmatized. As of last year, among 262,712 students who underwent emotional and behavioral characteristic screening, 12,331 (4.7%) were identified as at-risk, but only 70% were connected to counseling institutions, indicating a significant expansion of service areas is planned.

First, accessibility will be improved so that adolescents can engage in routine mental care. The biggest change is the transition of the 'Youth Counseling and Welfare Centers' to a full-time system. Currently, these centers operate only during nights and weekends by district, but by 2026, they plan to secure professional counselors to establish a full-time operation foundation.

The Mind Counseling Centers, where counseling can be received conveniently in neighborhoods, will also be expanded to all autonomous districts. Support will also be provided for Seoul-style youth mental health counseling fees. The 'Youth Counseling Hotline' (1388), which offers easy help via phone calls, will introduce a 'single counselor responsibility system.' This is to provide customized counseling services to everyone from initial consultation through recovery.

The school management system, which had somewhat limited effectiveness, will also be strengthened. To quickly assist at-risk youth, a 'one-stop counseling system' will be established within schools, where experts will directly visit schools to provide in-depth evaluation and counseling for at-risk students, parent counseling, and linkage to treatment institutions. Additionally, a crisis response system will be established to operate in cases of suicide or self-harm within schools. A dedicated school crisis response team will be newly established at the Seoul Suicide Prevention Center, and crisis support teams will be operated by each education support office to collaborate. This includes a plan to deploy counselors to all 332 schools by 2030, up from the current 75.8% (1,007 schools) of the 1,329 elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul.

In the mid to long term, plans will be discussed to form the 'Seoul Youth Mental Health Policy Council' with central government ministries and related agencies. A Seoul city official stated, "Youth mental health issues require the whole society to come together," and expressed hope that "this agreement will be an important first step toward solving youth mental health problems."

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