Sejong City, the center of emotional care, shines
Sejong Special Self-Governing City (Mayor Choi Min-ho) received the grand prize at the ‘2024 National Citizens’ Mental Investment Support Project Meritorious and Excellent Local Government Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and was recognized nationwide for its excellent emotional care services. This award is the result of high performance in various indicators such as service application rate, operation system, and budget execution in an evaluation targeting 229 cities and counties nationwide.
Sejong City has maximized the practical effects of the project, especially through close cooperation with professional counseling agencies and expanded citizen participation. The National Mental Investment Support Project, which has been in full swing since July, focuses on helping citizens suffering from psychological difficulties such as depression and anxiety recover their mental health by providing professional psychological counseling services (vouchers).
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[Korean Today] Sejong City, Grand Prize Winner of National Citizens’ Mind Investment Support Project © Reporter Lee Yoon-joo |
Citizen-centered psychological counseling service, the secret of Sejong City
In this evaluation, Sejong City’s systematic establishment of a psychological counseling service provision system based on cooperation with 16 specialized organizations within the city was a major strength. In particular, Sejong City actively promoted the project through various channels, increased citizens’ accessibility to the service, and as a result, recorded a high utilization rate.
A support system has also been established so that citizens can easily apply for psychological counseling services. Applications for services can be made by visiting the town/village/dong administrative welfare center in person or online through Bokjiro (www.bokjiro.go.kr). Through this, an environment has been created where any citizen can easily and conveniently receive psychological counseling support.
Mental health, an essential task for citizens’ happiness
Kim Soo-young, the head of Sejong City Health Center, explained the significance of this award, emphasizing that “the national mental investment support project is a project that goes beyond simple counseling support and focuses on systematically taking care of citizens’ mental health.” He continued, “This project is also contributing to building a social safety net through emotional care, such as suicide prevention and early detection of mental illness,” and announced that they will provide even more specialized services in the future.
The meaning of winning the grand prize and future direction
Sejong City plans to continue to strengthen policies to promote emotional stability and mental health of citizens with this award. In particular, it plans to establish a sustainable support system so that emotional care and counseling services do not end with one-time support, and expand service accessibility so that more citizens can benefit.
A Sejong City official said, “This award is a result that shows how dedicated Sejong City is to caring for the mental health of its citizens,” and added, “We will continue to work with professional organizations to actively ensure that all citizens can live healthy and happy lives.”
Why is the National Mind Investment Support Project Important?
Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety disorders are emerging as problems that more and more citizens face in modern society. The National Mental Investment Support Project is an important policy that helps prevent and detect these problems early and respond appropriately. Sejong City has established itself as the most exemplary case in the country through this award, and based on this, it is setting a new standard for emotional care.
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