Gangnam-gu Entrusts Operation to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital
Center to Open at Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in October
On June 30, Gangnam-gu in Seoul announced that it had signed a private consignment agreement with Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital at the main office of the district office to operate an Integrated Addiction Management Support Center, thereby taking steps to establish a local foundation for proactively addressing addiction issues.
Jo Sungmyeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu (left), and Yoon Seunggyu, Director of Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital (right), attending the agreement ceremony. Provided by Gangnam-gu.
This agreement was prepared to address the regional imbalance caused by the existing Integrated Addiction Management Support Centers being located only in the northern part of Seoul, and to respond to the increasingly serious addiction problems.
Gangnam-gu has the highest number of narcotics-related 112 reports and medical narcotics handling establishments among all autonomous districts in Seoul. In addition, the proportion of youth at risk of gambling nationwide increased from 2.4% in 2020 to 4.8% in 2022, and one out of every four users of the Gangnam-gu Youth Psychological Support Center reports addiction issues such as media overdependence.
Despite the rapid spread of various types of addiction problems, there is currently no Integrated Addiction Management Support Center in the Gangnam area that can professionally address these issues.
In response, the district has been working to establish a center with the goal of building a regionally tailored addiction management system. Through an open recruitment process and a private consignment review committee, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, which has extensive expertise and field experience in addiction, was selected as the entrusted institution.
The center is scheduled to officially open in October this year on the fifth floor of the Gangnam-gu Public Health Center, with Seoul St. Mary's Hospital operating it under consignment for three years. A total of six specialists will be assigned to the center, which will handle all aspects of addiction management, including early detection and intervention for addiction problems, counseling, treatment, rehabilitation and social reintegration support for individuals with addiction, support for families of individuals with addiction, addiction harm prevention education, and community linkage projects.
The project targets Gangnam-gu residents and individuals and families experiencing addiction issues, covering all types of addiction including alcohol, narcotics, gambling, and digital addiction. This year, a total budget of approximately 240 million won from national, city, and district funds will be invested, with installation work planned for August and September and the opening scheduled for October.
Jo Sungmyeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, "Gangnam is an area with many high-risk factors for addiction and environments with exposure to drugs, such as entertainment venues and private academies, but it has been regrettable that there has been no specialized response institution until now. With the opening of this center, we will establish an integrated management system with a safety net from prevention to rehabilitation of addiction, and work to create a healthier local community."
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