Jeonnam Province Improves Access to Medical and Welfare Services for Elderly Residents in Island Regions

Social Service Vulnerable Area Contest Project

Largest National Funding Allocation: 126 Million Won


AI-Based Care for Over 100 Seniors

Targeting Island Areas Including Goheung, Wando, Jindo, and Shinan


Integrated Care Services to Include

Care Robots and Remote Psychological Counseling

Jeollanam-do has been selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 2026 Social Service Vulnerable Area Project and will promote AI-based integrated care services for the elderly, focusing on island regions. Provided by Jeonnam Province

Jeonnam Province announced that it has been selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 2026 Social Service Vulnerable Area Contest Project and will promote AI-based integrated care services for the elderly, focusing on island regions.

Among the six cities and provinces selected nationwide for this contest project, Jeonnam Province secured 126 million won in national funding, the largest allocation along with Gangwon Province. This amount is about twice the contest application base amount of 63 million won.

The vulnerable area contest project is designed to provide integrated care, health, and daily living support services to regions where there is demand for care but access is difficult due to a shortage of service providers.

Jeonnam Province selected island regions in four counties—Goheung, Wando, Jindo, and Shinan—as the project sites, taking into comprehensive consideration the vulnerability of emergency medical services, population decline, and service accessibility.

Targeting around 100 elderly people aged 65 or older, this project is an integrated care model that connects home-based daily care with health management and living support services. The main services include: ▲ 24-hour daily care using AI care robots ▲ remote psychological counseling ▲ provision of care food, among others.

The AI care robots installed in homes will converse with the elderly, provide companionship, support daily care such as medication reminders and well-being checks, and analyze data such as conversation content and activity changes. If crisis signals are detected, the system will notify administrators and, if necessary, connect the elderly to remote psychological counseling with professionals. Through these efforts, the project aims to bring hope to the daily lives of elderly residents in isolated island areas.

The provision of care food will be carried out in cooperation with Jeonnam Bioindustry Foundation, offering customized kits for seniors based on their health status.

Spaces such as senior centers and village halls will be used as care hubs, and local residents will be designated as 'island managers' to provide guidance and support for care service utilization.

Last year, Jeonnam Province was the only region nationwide to be selected for the Smart Social Service Contest Project and has since promoted care services using AI companion robots, receiving a positive response from the elderly and continuing to expand digital technology-based care models in the field.

Jeonnam Province expects that this project will improve access to medical and welfare services for island residents and contribute to narrowing health disparities and alleviating social isolation.

Jung Gwangsun, Director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Jeonnam Province, stated, "We have developed a new care model utilizing AI and other technologies for island residents who face difficulties accessing social services," and added, "We will continue to discover a variety of care services tailored to regional characteristics and further develop the Jeonnam-style integrated care system."

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