Seo-gu, Gwangju Prevents Lonely Deaths Using Call Records and Step Counts

Applied to 1,680 People Including Single-Person Households

Gwangju Seo District Office Exterior View

Seo-gu District in Gwangju Metropolitan City is operating a "Mobile Safety Care Service" that uses data such as phone call records and step counts from single-person households at high risk of dying alone.

This program is a hybrid of contactless and in-person care services, targeting 1,680 high-risk single-person households among the middle-aged and elderly. If there is no call history for a certain period based on the incoming and outgoing call records of the recipient's wired and wireless phones, an automated welfare check call is placed. If there is still no response after a second welfare check call, a staff member from the local administrative welfare center contacts the guardian or visits the home in person to check on the recipient's wellbeing.

The district is also focusing on building a digital care system using a mobile app. Since September last year, the "Smart Welfare Check Service" app has been linked with the Mobile Safety Care Service. This app uses the recipient's step count data to detect crisis situations and provides an SOS alert function that immediately notifies guardians. Seo-gu plans to actively guide recipients through app installation during home visits, as well as promote customized settings such as guardian registration and risk group classification.

Meanwhile, in 2025, Seo-gu conducted a total of 50,758 welfare checks. Of these, 33,509 were handled through automated welfare checks. For 6,874 cases where a potential crisis was detected, a responsible public official visited in person to check on the recipient. These efforts are seen as going beyond simple inspections to proactively identify and respond to actual crisis situations at an early stage.

In particular, during periods of heat waves and heavy rainfall in the summer, the district focused on intensive safety checks. During the Chuseok holiday, an emergency work system was activated, and all 581 welfare check requests were completed, ensuring there were no gaps in care.

Seo-gu District Mayor Kim Ikang said, "We will ensure that the local community cares for households in crisis who are socially isolated due to severed family ties," adding, "We will build a dense care safety net where digital technology and human touch work together."