107 Honored for Contributions to Mental Health Awareness, Including Professor Lee Haeguk of Catholic University

Ministry of Health and Welfare Holds 'Mental Health Day' Commemoration Event

On October 15, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held a 'Mental Health Day Commemoration Event' at the Westin Chosun Seoul, where it awarded a total of 107 honors and commendations-including one Order of Service Merit, one Presidential Citation, and three Prime Minister's Citations-to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the prevention and treatment of mental illnesses and to improving public awareness.

This year, Professor Lee Haeguk of Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine received the Order of Service Merit in recognition of his contributions to the establishment of government mental health policies and public awareness improvement through various advisory roles in mental health initiatives.

Lee Kyunghee, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Mental Health Division, was awarded the Presidential Citation for her significant contributions to supporting the independence of people with mental illness, including establishing and operating a regional psychological support center to build a daily mental care system and expanding housing support projects for people with mental illness.

Additionally, Kim Sukja, Center Director at Jeongbin Medical Foundation Asan Hospital, was awarded the Prime Minister's Citation for her efforts in policy research and improving treatment environments for people with mental illness. Kwon Mijin, an investigator at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, also received the Prime Minister's Citation for her contributions to addressing discrimination by investigating cases of human rights violations among inpatients at psychiatric institutions.

Gyeonggi Province was recognized with the Prime Minister's Citation as an organization for its achievements in providing proactive treatment support, including early intervention for mental illness.

October 10 is 'World Mental Health Day,' designated in 1992 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). The Korean government established Mental Health Day as a legal commemorative day in 2017 to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and to eliminate prejudice against mental illness, and has held commemorative ceremonies annually since then.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Eun-kyung stated, "I hope this commemoration event will serve as an opportunity for all of us to move toward a society that understands and embraces each other's hearts," adding, "The government will do its utmost to establish a more comprehensive support system to promote the mental health of the people."

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