Largest Number of Systems Installed Nationwide
No Gaps in Care Despite National Intelligence Service Fire
Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor: Shin Sangjin) announced on October 17 that it received a score of 98 and was awarded an A grade in the "Emergency Safety Reassurance Service for Elderly Living Alone and Disabled People" evaluation conducted by Gyeonggi Province.
Emergency safety reassurance system 6-piece set installed in the homes of elderly living alone and disabled people by Seongnam City. Provided by Seongnam City
This evaluation was carried out jointly by Gyeonggi Province and 31 cities and counties, inspecting seven areas including the operation system of emergency safety reassurance services at each region's Integrated Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone or Senior Welfare Center, emergency response, and management of both recipients and in-home equipment.
Through the Integrated Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone (Yatap-dong), Seongnam City provided emergency safety reassurance services to a total of 5,863 recipients, including 5,594 elderly people living alone and 269 disabled people, earning the highest grade in the four-level evaluation system (A to D).
An ICT-based "Emergency Safety Reassurance System" has been installed in recipients’ homes, which simultaneously connects to 119 emergency services, guardians, and 16 emergency management staff at the Seongnam City Integrated Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone whenever danger signals such as fire, falls, or loss of consciousness are detected.
The system consists of a set of six devices: a gateway that connects to 119 and other services, a fire detector, an emergency call device, an activity detector, an entry detector, and a wearable device (for monitoring physical functions), all working together to provide rapid emergency rescue and response.
The city is currently managing a total of 6,234 sets (each set comprising six devices) of the emergency safety reassurance system, due to reasons such as recipients moving in and out.
From January to September this year, there were a total of 836 emergency dispatches and interventions carried out at recipients’ homes through this system.
Of these, 574 cases involved emergencies where 119 responded and arranged hospital transfers, while in 262 cases of fire detection, the fire department was dispatched for firefighting.
A city official stated, "Among the 243 local governments nationwide, Seongnam City has installed and supports the largest number of emergency safety reassurance systems (6,234 sets) in recipients’ homes, operating this service. This A grade evaluation recognizes Seongnam City’s efforts in combining a technology-based care system with human response capabilities."
The official added that, following the National Intelligence Service fire that paralyzed the emergency safety system’s computer network on September 26, the city has been operating an emergency work system to prevent any gaps in care.
Every day, after activating the artificial intelligence (AI) care call, the city checks on all 5,863 recipients by phone or in-person visits.
This service work will continue until the emergency safety system’s computer network is restored.
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