Gangbuk-gu Operates 'Gangbuk Integrity Talk,' an Anonymous Corruption Reporting Channel

[Seoul District News] Gangbuk-gu Operates Internal Reporting System for Personnel Misconduct, Abuse of Power, and Illegal or Improper Budget Execution... Seongdong-gu's Visiting Hope Welfare Counseling Center Acts as a Guardian for Welfare Blind Spots... Gwanak-gu Distributes Companion Robots to Elderly Living Alone and Disabled People Without Families in May, the Month of Family... Gangnam-gu Launches the Nation's First 'One-Stop Senior Health Tour'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gangbuk-gu (District Mayor Park Gyeom-su) operates an internal channel called ‘Gangbuk Integrity Talk’ through the mobile messenger KakaoTalk, allowing anonymous reporting of corrupt activities.

The main reportable issues include ▲improper personnel solicitations and provision of money, entertainment, or special favors ▲illegal or unfair budget execution ▲abuse of authority through improper demands or work instructions, and other corrupt acts.

‘Gangbuk Integrity Talk’ is expected to contribute to the activation of internal reporting as it allows easy reporting using the widely used mobile messenger KakaoTalk.

Gangbuk-gu employees who wish to report corruption can access the KakaoTalk open chat room, search for ‘Gangbuk Integrity Talk’ on the open chat main screen, and report via 1:1 chat.

For security, a chat participation code must be entered when accessing the chat room. Based on the reported content in the chat window, the Gangbuk-gu Audit Officer will investigate the facts and notify the reporter of the results.

Park Gyeom-su, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “Along with the Integrity Corruption Reporting Center operated on the Gangbuk-gu website, the operation of ‘Gangbuk Integrity Talk’ will help prevent public service corruption and misconduct in advance,” adding, “We will strive to create a clean Gangbuk-gu that is trusted by residents by fostering an honest public service culture.”

Seongdong-gu’s ‘Visiting Hope Welfare Counseling Center’ is playing a vital role as a guardian of welfare blind spots by discovering individuals in difficult circumstances.

On the 14th of last month, about 50 residents visited the ‘Visiting Hope Welfare Counseling Center,’ where in-depth individual counseling was provided across various fields.

Among them were Elderly Lee (81) from Geumho-dong, who had been lonely staying at home every day but was able to receive guidance on programs at the Seongdong Senior Welfare Center, and Mr. Kim (58), who was struggling to find a job but received job information nearby and decided to have in-depth counseling over the phone.

Especially, Elderly Yoo (73), who visited the mental counseling desk, expressed deep emotional distress. During in-depth counseling, it was confirmed that they had previously attempted suicide, and an immediate depression screening test was conducted on-site. The individual was found to be in a high-risk group for depression and will participate in various programs at the Seongdong Mental Health Welfare Center and receive continuous case management.

The ‘Visiting Hope Welfare Counseling Center’ is a public-private cooperative counseling desk that has been operating since last year, linked with ‘Dundun Han-kki Nuliso,’ which provides food to residents temporarily facing livelihood difficulties due to COVID-19. It introduces various policy services such as welfare, housing, and jobs, as well as programs from social, disabled, and senior welfare centers. It also conducts psychological counseling for increasing depression cases due to COVID-19 and operates every Thursday in front of the Geumho Branch of the Seongdong Public Health Center.

This year, participating public-private institutions and the Geumho 1-ga-dong Community Security Council members launched a ‘Rediscovering Neighbors’ welfare blind spot discovery campaign, distributing welfare information leaflets at locations such as the Singeumho Station intersection, appealing to find hidden neighbors in need around us.

The district plans to continue providing various welfare services for those in need and expand welfare communication channels with residents, such as KakaoTalk’s ‘Seongdong Neighbor Care,’ actively discovering households in crisis through public-private cooperation.

Gwanak-gu announced that it will distribute AI (Artificial Intelligence)-integrated companion robots to elderly living alone and disabled individuals with high levels of depression due to entrenched social isolation in celebration of Family Month in May.

As of the end of April, 1 in 4 elderly people (26.1%) and 1 in 4 disabled people (27.5%) in Gwanak-gu live alone, highlighting the need for support policies for the increasing vulnerable single-person households.

Accordingly, the district is strengthening community care for vulnerable groups with high social isolation due to disconnection from the outside by providing non-face-to-face care services using AI to address emotional anxiety and risks such as loneliness and solitary death among elderly and disabled single-person households.

The AI companion robot distributed by the district is named ‘Channy Bot,’ derived from the greeting “Are you okay?” (Gwaenchan-ni), and also means a companion who helps (贊) and benefits (利) the daily life of solitary disabled individuals.

Channy Bot’s functions include ▲supporting daily life through personalized reminders (medication times, waking and sleeping, etc.) ▲emotional support through various cute comments and companionship ▲emergency linkage through safety monitoring such as risk signal detection ▲AI-based smart integrated care support including notifications of Gwanak-gu administrative and welfare news and general information.

In particular, the district supports two types of companion robots with differentiated customized solutions according to individual characteristics such as age, depression level, device operation ability, and other user needs.

For elderly who prefer simple companionship functions or disabled individuals with speech difficulties, a touch-recognition-based plush doll robot called ‘Companion Doll’ is provided. For users capable of operating smart devices, a desktop ‘AI Robot’ offering voice recognition-based active conversation, video calls, and display screen is supported.

Since October last year, the district has distributed companion robots to 100 solitary disabled individuals at home and plans to distribute an additional 100 units this year targeting elderly living alone and disabled persons.

The district plans to not only distribute companion robots but also conduct user satisfaction surveys, depression scale tests, and server data analysis to analyze the effectiveness of emotional stability and care contribution for solitary elderly and disabled individuals through companion robots, concretizing an AI-based smart integrated care model.

A district official said, “We hope to alleviate the feelings of alienation and loneliness of elderly living alone and disabled individuals during Family Month in May,” adding, “The district will continue to prepare demand-tailored policies responding to the diverse needs and living environment changes of vulnerable single-person households, creating a warm and equitable care system for a happy community for all.”

Gangnam-gu (Acting Mayor Ahn Junho) started the ‘One-Stop Senior Health Tour,’ a visiting and experiential program linking the Well-Aging Center (3rd floor) and Dementia Safety Center (4th-5th floors) at 27 Seolleung-ro 108-gil, on the 28th of last month.

The Health Tour is the nation’s first program allowing elderly residents, fatigued from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, to take care of both their physical and mental health at once. Elderly residents from 156 local senior centers visit and experience the Well-Aging Center, the nation’s first senior specialized health promotion institution, and the Dementia Safety Center for one hour each, guided by staff from the Gangnam Senior Welfare Center. The program runs once every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, with up to 16 participants per session, accepting applicants from each senior center.

At the Well-Aging Center, participants undergo ▲blood pressure and diabetes measurement ▲education on proper walking techniques ▲group sling exercise programs using sling exercise equipment conducted by professional exercise therapists ▲exercise prescriptions based on physical function assessments. At the Dementia Safety Center, they experience ▲video education on understanding cognitive impairment ▲individual cognitive screening tests and professional counseling ▲memory improvement quizzes ▲cognitive puzzle assembly.

Oh Eun-hyang, Director of the Senior Welfare Department, said, “We hope many elderly people participate in the ‘One-Stop Senior Health Tour’ to take care of their physical and mental health in this aging era,” adding, “We will gradually expand the target users so that everyone can enjoy a dignified senior life unique to ‘Gangnam of Quality.’”