Nationwide Expansion of 'Saessakjikimi Hospital,' a Dedicated Medical Institution for Child Abuse Cases

Ministry of Health and Welfare Designates Four New Locations This Year

Seedling Guardian Hospital Poster. [Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] From this year, specialized regional medical institutions for child abuse will be expanded nationwide to provide medical support for abused children.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced this on the afternoon of the 2nd at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, during the "Child Abuse Specialized Medical Institution Activation Project Briefing." Specialized regional medical institutions for child abuse are institutions that treat and consult on high-difficulty child abuse cases at the city/province level and are responsible for training medical staff at specialized medical institutions (327 nationwide) within their jurisdiction. They were piloted last year in eight cities and provinces.

This year, the Ministry designated four new specialized regional medical institutions for child abuse: Chonnam National University Hospital (Jeonnam), Chungnam National University Hospital (Daejeon), Dankook University Hospital (Chungnam), and Soonchunhyang University Gumi Hospital (Gyeongbuk). Accordingly, along with the previously piloted Seoul National University Hospital (Seoul), Incheon Medical Center (Incheon), Ulsan University Hospital (Ulsan), Yongin Severance Hospital (Gyeonggi), Chungbuk National University Hospital (Chungbuk), Jeonbuk National University Hospital (Jeonbuk), and Changwon Hanmaeum Hospital (Gyeongnam), a total of 11 specialized regional medical institutions for child abuse are now operating.

Last year, the specialized medical institutions treated 118 high-difficulty suspected child abuse cases and provided 52 consultations regarding abuse determinations. Child abuse specialized officials, police, and child protection agencies cited the establishment of specialized institutions available 24 hours for medical consultations during the protection process of abused children as the greatest achievement of the pilot project. Medical staff also evaluated that the establishment of consultation procedures for suspected cases and the unification of response channels after reporting reduced psychological burdens, enabling more active reporting of child abuse.

The Ministry named the child abuse specialized medical institutions "Saessak Jikimi Hospitals" (Sprout Guardian Hospitals) to make the name more approachable for children.

Choi Jong-gyun, Director of the Population Policy Office at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "Thanks to the successful establishment of the medical support system for abused children through the pilot project, we were able to expand the specialized regional medical institutions for child abuse nationwide. Since the project is expanded nationwide this year, we hope that through cooperation among institutions, we can minimize the aftereffects for more abused children and support their healthy development and growth."