Gimcheon Proves the Public Value of Mental Health Through Administration

Selected as Excellent Municipality for Two Consecutive Years in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Mental Investment Project
Institutionalizing an Invisible Safety Net

Gimcheon City's mental health policies, which have prioritized the emotional well-being of its citizens as a core value of municipal administration, have once again been recognized at the national level.

Gimcheon City Selected as an Excellent Municipality for Two Consecutive Years in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'National Mental Investment Support Project'

Gimcheon City announced that it has been selected as an excellent municipality for two consecutive years in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 'National Mental Investment Support Project,' receiving the Encouragement Award.

The 'National Mental Investment Support Project' is a flagship government mental health policy that provides professional psychological counseling services in the form of vouchers to citizens experiencing psychological difficulties such as depression and anxiety.

Since the early stages of the project, Gimcheon City has significantly improved citizen accessibility by identifying eligible participants, focusing on field-based promotion, and strengthening connections with local service providers.

In particular, the city's collaborative structure linking health, welfare, and education sectors has enabled the early identification of citizens in need of counseling and lowered administrative barriers, which were highly rated in this evaluation.

It has been noted as especially meaningful that the city has gone beyond simply expanding performance metrics to realize "administration that reaches citizens at the moment of need."

Building on its accumulated operational achievements this year, Gimcheon City plans to proactively respond to the policy environment, which will be renamed and expanded to the 'Mental Health Psychological Counseling Voucher Project' starting in 2026.

The city aims to further enhance service quality and strengthen its cooperation with social service providers, with the goal of establishing mental health support as a sustainable public service rather than a one-time welfare benefit.

An official from the Health Promotion Division of Gimcheon City Public Health Center stated, "Caring for the minds of citizens is equivalent to protecting lives," adding, "We will continue to build a psychological safety net that allows people to reach out for help whenever they need it, and will steadily pursue suicide prevention and mental health recovery policies."

Eligible recipients include citizens identified as needing psychological counseling by psychiatric medical institutions, mental health welfare centers, or Wee Centers; individuals found to have moderate or higher levels of depression in the national health examination; young people preparing for self-reliance; and children under extended protection.

Citizens wishing to participate in the project can bring the required supporting documents to their local administrative welfare center or apply online via the 'Bokjiro' website. Applications are accepted once per year.

Once selected, participants may choose any service provider regardless of their place of residence and receive a total of eight professional psychological counseling sessions over a period of 120 days.

Gimcheon City is continuously identifying and expanding social service providers to ensure stable operation of psychological counseling services. Further details can be found in the notices and announcements section of the Gimcheon City website.