Geochang County's Integrated Care Project Gains National Attention as a Model Case for Benchmarking

Benchmarking Visits to Be Conducted by Eight Local Governments and Institutions in 2025

Geochang County in South Gyeongsang Province announced on June 12 that the Gwangyang City Community Social Security Council visited Geochang County to gain a better understanding of the integrated care project and to benchmark its best practices.

The visit included more than 60 members of the Gwangyang City Community Social Security Council, led by its private sector chairperson, Hwang Chanwoo. The group visited the Namsang Eoullim Village Multipurpose Center, where they listened to an explanation of Geochang County’s integrated care project and its exemplary cases, presented by Yoo Soosang, the private sector chairperson of the Geochang County Community Social Security Council.

Geochang County Integrated Care Project Benchmarking as a National Model Case.

Since 2020, Geochang County has been providing customized integrated care services in areas such as housing, health care, daily care, and service linkage, based on the principle of "care for anyone in need." The county operates 18 projects across 7 sectors, building a seamless care system. In 2024, it was recognized as an "Outstanding National Institution for Care Excellence" by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, drawing attention as a national model case.

Currently, the county uses four regional integrated care centers as hubs to identify and provide tailored care services to vulnerable households, including the elderly and people with disabilities. The county is also implementing various initiatives, including: ▲training village activists so that residents care for fellow residents; ▲the "Gachi Care" program, which connects discharged patients with nursing care; ▲the "Care Taxi" service, which ensures transportation to hospitals for people with chronic illnesses; ▲the "Reliable Home" project, which improves residential environments; ▲the "Clean Booth" program, which organizes homes of people with hoarding disorder; and ▲the "Jeongdamun Chan" side dish sharing program.

Park Jinsu, Director of Welfare Policy, stated, "With the enforcement of the 'Act on Integrated Support for Regional Care Including Medical and Nursing Care' scheduled for March 2026, we will make even greater efforts to establish a public care system that provides integrated, customized welfare services. This will ensure that any resident in need of care can easily and conveniently receive support and continue to live a healthy life in their own community."