Gangwon Province Records 608 Applicants for Integrated Care in One Month... Full-Scale Efforts to Address Welfare Blind Spots Begin

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Acting Governor: Yeo Junghyup) announced that the Community Integrated Care Program, which was fully implemented on March 27, has reached a cumulative total of 608 applicants within just one month, marking a stage of institutional stabilization.

A view of the Gangwon Provincial Government Building. Courtesy of Gangwon Provincial Government.

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During the 20 working days following the enactment of the law, the average number of daily applicants was recorded at 30.4. This figure represents an approximately 4.2-fold increase compared to the pre-implementation average of 7.2 per day, highlighting the strong demand for integrated care services among provincial residents.

Among city areas, Chuncheon had the highest number of applicants at 183, followed by Wonju with 53 and Taebaek with 41. In county areas, Cheorwon recorded 46 applicants, followed by Hoengseong with 32 and Pyeongchang with 30.

In order to minimize confusion in the initial implementation of the system, the province is concentrating administrative resources on thoroughly inspecting and refining the entire process, from service application to coordination.

Prior to the enactment of the law, efforts were focused on establishing the operational structure and training over 1,400 public officials. Currently, the focus has shifted to identifying issues and deriving areas for improvement through on-site inspections.

In particular, the province identified support gaps occurring during the transportation of non-emergency bedridden patients to hospitals, and has begun reviewing relevant legislation and initiating procedures to improve the system to address these gaps.

Going forward, the province plans to continually address and supplement issues and improvements that arise during implementation to gradually enhance the completeness of the program.

Comprehensive support measures to address disparities in care services between cities and counties will be promoted in parallel.

Yanggu and Inje, both border areas, have been selected as pilot regions, and a wide-area care support system has been launched in cooperation with the Gangwon Social Service Institute.

The province also plans to collaborate with the Gangwon Women's and Family Research Institute to conduct a detailed assessment of service provision capabilities by region and to establish mid- to long-term plans for narrowing service gaps within the year.

Yeo Junghyup, Acting Governor (Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs) of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, "Community integrated care is a key policy that determines the dignity and quality of life in old age for our residents. We will continue to reflect even the smallest voices from the field in our policies and build a practical care system that residents can truly experience."

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