SH Corporation, SK Telecom, and ADT Caps Sign MOU to Establish Crisis Response System for Single-Person Households

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), SK Telecom, and ADT Caps have joined forces to address depression and loneliness among single-person households in rental housing.

On the 2nd, SH Corporation, SK Telecom, and ADT Caps announced that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a crisis response system for single-person households in rental housing and jointly operate a living lab responsible for applying and verifying information and communication technology (ICT).

Considering the increasing social issues related to depression and loneliness among single-person households due to COVID-19, SH Corporation has been expanding local social networks through programs such as 'Hope Caregiver Vulnerable Group Care' and providing 'Visiting Mental Health Services' to protect the mental health of single-person households.

Regarding the signing of this MOU, SH Corporation stated, "Given the shortage of welfare field personnel and the expansion of welfare service target households (the vulnerable groups to loneliness are gradually expanding from elderly people aged 65 and over, who are the existing welfare service target group, to middle-aged and older adults), it was judged necessary to prepare measures to eliminate blind spots in welfare services." They added, "We also believed that an advanced system should be established to respond more quickly to incidents and accidents related to single-person households during times that are realistically difficult to respond to, such as nights and weekends."

SH Corporation decided to establish a system that can more effectively prevent and respond to crisis situations of single-person households by linking ICT and welfare services, and plans to build a 'living lab' in a rental apartment complex in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, to apply and verify related new technologies. An SH Corporation official stated, "We decided to utilize the living lab to establish a more sustainable and effective system through an innovative method that involves local residents and social welfare fields in the process of applying technology to solve social problems."

The living lab will build and verify a system that monitors crisis situations of single-person households in rental housing and responds promptly when incidents occur. It will apply big data analysis techniques using SK Telecom’s communication and Internet of Things (IoT) sensor data, and research ways to integrate ADT Caps’ integrated control network, local coordinators, and welfare services from welfare centers.

SH Corporation plans to actively reflect the opinions of local welfare service providers and residents throughout this process. To enhance expertise, they will collaborate with Gangnam University’s Future Welfare Convergence Research Institute to verify the effectiveness of the crisis response system.

Kim Se-yong, President of SH Corporation, said, "We hope to create a crisis response system for single-person households that can operate more effectively in the field through this living lab." He added, "We will continue to promote projects that expand social networks to address the isolation issues of single-person households from multiple perspectives in the post-COVID-19 era."

Yu Woong-hwan, Head of SV Innovation Center at SK Telecom, said, "We hope that this agreement will establish social safety measures to care for single-person households and vulnerable groups even in the non-face-to-face era caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic." Han Eun-seok, Head of Strategic Planning at ADT Caps, emphasized, "We will operate a system that can effectively respond to emergencies that may occur at night and on holidays by providing ICT-based crisis response services for single-person households through a nationwide 24-hour integrated control network."