Seoul City Revamps 'Sonmok Doctor 9988'... Customized Care for New Mothers and Reclusive Youths

Customized Health Management App... Special Recruitment for New Mothers and Seniors
Year-Round Open Enrollment Aiming for 1 Million Participants

The customized health management app for Seoul citizens, 'Sonmok Doctor 9988,' has undergone a system overhaul. This year, to enable more citizens to participate easily, participation is possible through the mobile app alone, with year-round recruitment, and special recruitment will be conducted for health-vulnerable groups such as postpartum mothers, reclusive isolated youth, and the elderly to provide services.

On the 3rd, Seoul City announced that the 'Sonmok Doctor 9988' project has improved its system so that any Seoul citizen aged 19 or older can participate with just a smartphone, and recruitment of participants will begin from the 4th.

'Sonmok Doctor 9988' is a Seoul-type healthcare project started by Seoul City in 2021 to help citizens form healthy lifestyle habits and improve health. Last year, it gained popularity with a total of 450,000 citizens participating. This year, the platform and overall system will be advanced with a goal of reaching 1 million cumulative sign-ups.

First, Seoul City will switch from first-come-first-served recruitment to year-round continuous recruitment. The participation method has also been improved so that it is easy to participate using only the mobile app without a smartwatch. Accordingly, general participants can join via mobile phone (app) or personal watch (Galaxy, Apple), but smartwatches will not be provided. To enable more elderly citizens to participate, the previous upper age limit of 75 years has been abolished, relaxing the age criteria. In particular, for seniors aged 70 and above, the step point achievement criterion has been relaxed to 5,000 steps to increase the participation achievement rate of the elderly.

Participants in Sonmok Doctor 9988 can earn up to 100,000 points per person based on activities such as walking more than 8,000 steps a day (200 points) and participating in health quizzes (100 points). The earned points (1 point = 1 KRW) can be converted into Seoul Pay Money and conveniently used like cash at nearby affiliated stores such as hospitals, pharmacies, and convenience stores.

Customized health services are also provided for health-vulnerable groups. The target groups include postpartum mothers, reclusive isolated youth, and the elderly. Special recruitment targets postpartum mothers, metabolic syndrome management subjects, households at risk of solitary death, reclusive isolated youth, youth preparing for independence, and seniors aged 60 and above. Relevant departments will cooperate to identify candidates and promote tailored programs.

Kim Tae-hee, Director of the Seoul City Citizen Health Bureau, said, "We have switched to year-round continuous recruitment so that any Seoul citizen can participate in the Sonmok Doctor 9988 project and manage their health." He added, "For elderly people who find it difficult to sign up using smartphones or other smart devices, we are preparing application and usage education in cooperation with senior welfare centers, so we ask for the citizens' great interest and participation."