Questions/Answers

The number of isolated deaths of people living alone is increasing due to the weakening of social networks and bonds driven by social changes such as the rise in single households, low birth rates, and an aging population. As of 2017, single households account for 28.5% of the total population in South Korea. Along with a steady rise in the number of single households, consequently the number of solitary deaths has risen. More than 10,000 cases of solitary death were filed over the past six years alone. To deal with the issue of solitary death and prevent the tragedy of accepting death in solitude, the district utilized our strength as a powerful country in information and communications technology to tackle the issue. 1. (KakaoTalk) We launched a welfare blind spot reporting service using KakaoTalk messenger. District residents can report neighbors living in difficult conditions through the messenger so that the district can connect the optimal welfare services to the people in real time. In addition, people who cannot walk freely by themselves can use the messenger service to speak with our staff. 2. (Mobile phones) Utilizing the fact that South Korea has a mobile phone distribution rate of 100%, we established a system where designated welfare providers receive an automatic notification if the mobile phone of a welfare service recipient is turned off for more than 3 days. 3. (AI) We distributed AI speakers to senior citizens living alone and socially disadvantaged single households so that they can have someone to talk to, listen to music, and receive life-related information. In particular, we developed an ICT(Information and Communications Technologies) caregiving service where the AI speakers can recognize emergency signals and respond to them promptly. As a result, we provide customized caregiving services to vulnerable single households based on this information to prevent solitary deaths.

In order to reinforce the public welfare service, we utilized information and communications technologies to drive a digital revolution of public institutions. 1. We used a messenger service to build a closely intertwined human network where neighbors can keep a friendly eye on each other. 2. We used mobile phones to create a monitoring system where designated welfare providers receive automatically generated notifications if an abnormal pattern of use is detected on a welfare recipient’s mobile phone. 3. We used AI speakers to not only deliver personal messages to welfare recipients but also to send out emergency rescue signals, achieving a 24-hour caregiving service. These are model cases of using cutting-edge technologies, and mark a digital revolution in public administration.

With the rise of single households and an aging population, society is demanding a guarantee for healthy living and welfare services. The district has launched customized caregiving services using KakaoTalk messenger, mobile phones, and AI speakers to promote the health and well-being of the socially vulnerable class in particular. The services have since contributed to healthy living, and as the traditional role of families and village communities which successfully took care of their members in the past has weakened, the goal of sustainable cities and communities will experience negative impacts if these phenomena are left unaddressed. As the process of urbanization and nuclearization of family develops further, the public service sector would have to fill the gap of the traditional function that family and village had assumed in the past. Only then will sustainable urban development and community be achieved harmoniously. By applying private technologies to the public service sector, social problems can be addressed and handled in a smart way, realizing healthy and sustainable urban development and human residence.

For the sake of sustainability, we focused on two aspects. First, we established a partnership or contract with SK Telecom (a mobile network provider) and KakaoTalk (a messenger app provider), which have the highest market coverage in the country, in order to secure the maximum number of applicable service receivers. This has a positive effect in increasing the base for the services. Second, we are making efforts in the promotion and distribution of the services to benefit from the snowball effect in lowering costs that come with a greater number of users and greater spreading potential, which will increase the sustainability of the services.

The conventional approach in public welfare service was to increase the number of staff if the demand for a welfare service increases. Likewise, if the frequency of solitary deaths increased, then we increased the frequency of field visits. In other words, we understood and planned welfare services based on the idea that they are fundamentally face-to-face services. However, there is always going to be a limit to the number of staff that can be newly recruited since we are working under a budget. We concluded that we will not be able to handle the welfare demand that is increasing at an exponential rate if we insist upon face-to-face methods. In particular, the socially vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the handicapped require care services day and night. We could not provide an adequate level of service to address solitary deaths, which are happening simultaneously in the middle-aged group, with the basic workforce available. We have successfully solved the lack of staff by applying technologies that are in tune with the 4th Industrial Revolution, such as information and communications technology (KakaoTalk messenger and mobile phones) and artificial intelligence technology (AI speaker). These technologies allow us to monitor the status of the elderly for 24 hours so that our staff can quickly respond to emergency situations even during off-duty hours.

Economically, women have fewer opportunities to participate in economic activities than men, and there is a tendency for women to be pushed to low-pay and temporary positions. This tendency becomes more prominent with age. For women, there is a higher chance of being subject to economic isolation than men. They are also exposed to a greater risk of solitary death. The majority of this project’s target subject are also women, with the ratio of 7:3 in comparison to men. If the project can successfully prevent solitary deaths, it will also have an effect of improving the economic inequality between genders and solve the side effects.

High-risk single households, such as those in welfare blind spots including the socially vulnerable, elderly living alone, and middle-aged men are target groups of the project. We rely on local residents in the community to notify the district of high-risk households in the neighborhood. A preventive system is then established to prevent emergencies. Via mobile phones, abnormal patterns or activities are detected via indicators such as usage patterns and how long the phone stays switched off. In the event of such cases, automatic notifications are delivered to the designated welfare providers so that they can check the person's status. In addition, the AI speaker is designed to recognize emergency signals such as “Help me” and to take immediate actions to prevent solitary deaths.

For the past 10 years, the district has steadily introduced excellent welfare policies, setting a good example for other regions. Despite such efforts, the district has had to come up with new ideas to respond to the rapidly increasing welfare demand and to tackle welfare blind spots. In order to provide seamless welfare services that leave no one behind by eliminating welfare blind spots through voluntary reporting from neighbors, "Angel Talk(KakaoTalk messenger)" was launched in 2015. It utilizes Korea's leading mobile messenger application service, KakaoTalk, and its platform to reduce the cost of developing a new platform while enhancing accessibility. As of 2019, there are 1,284 residents using Angel Talk. We are steadily increasing the number of users by signing MOUs with various companies who offer visitation services, such as gas and waterworks system inspectors. In 2015, in order to prevent solitary deaths using mobile phones, the district started to discuss possibilities with SKT and their subsidiary companies, which have the greatest telecommunication network market share in Korea. Over two years, meetings for technological details and details of system construction were held as well as the signing of an MOU. Through these processes, for the first time in Korea, we could establish a system that enables detection of abnormal incidents based on mobile phone usage patterns and how long the mobile phone's power is switched off then automatically generates a notification to the designated welfare service providers. Recently, we are working with innovative policies designed to prevent solitary deaths among socially vulnerable single households by utilizing AI speakers equipped with features such as conversation mode, health-related information feeds, and emergency rescue notifications.

Angel Talk sends out friendly reminders every 2 weeks to its members to encourage to raise their awareness of neighbors in need of assistance. For the mobile phone service, we take necessary measures if the service subjects’ mobile phones are turned off for more than 3 days. However, we have introduced a customized system so that notifications are triggered by different durations according the life patterns of individuals service subjects. We have also added a conversation mode and an emergency rescue signal function to the AI speakers to help the subjects to relieve depressive moods and to enable them to make emergency requests 24 hours a day, effectively achieving a 24-hour caregiving service.

The welfare report service using the Angel Talk messenger program is the first of its kind in Korea. The fact that the service relies on local residents to look for neighbors in need indicates proactive cooperation between citizens and the government. The solitary death prevention system using mobile phones is an example of an innovative solution to solitary deaths that offers high effectiveness at low cost, with a monthly budget of less than 1 dollar per person. The AI speaker can automatically generate emergency rescue notifications, and can also analyze the language used by the subject to identify the psychological status and notify the designated welfare provider if necessary.

Safety of women on their way home has become a public issue. We introduced a mobile application for a safe journey home that notifies the local police station of the subject's current location in real time when the mobile phone is shaken in the event of an emergency. This was inspired by the protection system that utilizes mobile phones, which people always carry with them. We also developed a system that detects abnormal mobile phone usage patterns, such as the offline status, and sends out notifications on the messenger app to report high-risk households. A system was developed to conveniently report dangerous household.

Angel Talk(messenger) has been currently applied to 25 cities including Yeonje-gu in Busan, Youngdeungpo-gu in Seoul, and Anyang-si. These cities are continuously sharing the current operational status, searching for ways to improve the system. The mobile phone visiting service was benchmarked by the Busan Metropolitan City Government, and we provided support in project planning, implementation, and troubleshooting. The service was launched in September of 2018. The Seungdong-gu Office in Seoul and Seo-gu and Buk-gu Offices in Gwangju are also implementing the services based on our know-how. It has been barely 2 years since the services were launched at full scale, but we are steadily receiving inquires and opportunities for benchmarking in other regions. We expect the services to be used in even more regions next year.

The project has been transferred and continues to spread

We increased accessibility for Angel Talk by using a pre-existing application that has the greatest number of users in Korea. We basically had zero costs for creating a new platform. For the solitary death prevention service using mobile phones, we emphasized the aspect of the partner telecommunication company's contribution to society and suggested the promotional power and market influence that the public administration has as a bargaining chip. In this way, we were able to reduce the early development costs and are currently providing the service with a monthly budget of under 1 dollar per person.

Since Angel Talk utilizes a pre-existing application, there is no cost associated with update or management. We can maintain the service in a stable manner thanks to the steadily increasing number of users. The mobile phone visit service has a business structure where the cost increases as the number of users increases. Accordingly, to ensure the sustainability of the project, we are promoting the service steadily while encouraging other regions to benchmark the project. The AI speaker provides an innovative ICT-based caregiving service through continuous system upgrades and additions of new features using private technologies.

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1. Execution of test operation evaluation: We conducted evaluation after 2 weeks of test operation following the completion of the technology in order to listen to the opinions of the operational staff and to identify potential issues. The goal was to identify points for improvement suggested by the operating staff who utilize the services. The focus was on the operating staff and the service recipients. 2. Intermediary execution evaluation: Evaluation was conducted by the district staff who devised the general planning since early 2018 with a focus on future objectives.

For test operation evaluation, difficulties found by the operating staff during actual operation of the services and the level of satisfaction felt by the service recipients were used as the main indicators. In the intermediary execution evaluation, key points of performance were checked (number of registered users, benchmarking in other regions, and number of solitary deaths). Things that can be done for sustained development were also checked (number of meetings with other telecommunication companies and number of service partnership cases), and plans were made accordingly.

The services were officially launched after upgrading the system by reflecting the feedback provided by the operating staff. The outcome was smooth and successful. Without the test operation evaluation, the project could have lost momentum due to the occurrence of multiple issues in the early stage of the project, and the level of service recipient satisfaction could have been low as well. This could have made it difficult to establish a firm ground for the service overall. The preventive measures can be seen as highly effective. We are currently focusing on what went well, for example supporting benchmarking in other regions and the promotion and distribution of the services. We will also secure more service recipients through continuous negotiations with other telecommunication companies.

In order to provide the caregiving service for the socially vulnerable, meaning more specifically to prevent solitary deaths, Seodaemun-gu district Office has created an inclusive caregiving package utilizing information and communications technology. Via the KakaoTalk messenger service, mobile phones, and AI speaker, we established a smart system that enables the socially vulnerable classes to access public services without being left out in welfare blind spots. Korea’s first solitary death prevention service utilizing mobile phones was enabled by an equal partnership with a telecommunications company. Over the 2-year technology development period, the department of welfare policy assisted in development of the customized technology by sharing know-how on welfare policy such as on welfare recipients’ needs, while the telecommunications company developed the technology based on this information. The department of welfare policy and the telecommunications company are continuing the cooperative relationship through a technology partnership. In the area of public administration, the department of welfare policy is overseeing the general operation and management of the project. Individual community service centers designate welfare service providers to recipients residing in each dong neighborhood and provide statistical data on performance. The vertical cooperation between the district and community service centers also plays a major role in the systematic execution of the project.

The project was launched through private-public cooperation. A private telecommunications company possessing the right technology cooperated with the district office, which is a provider of welfare services, with the shared goal of revealing welfare blind spots and preventing solitary deaths. Starting with a feasibility meeting, the district had numerous meetings with the telecommunications company to develop the system. Both parties invested 2 years to develop a customizable service system. Over these 2 years, monthly meetings were held on a regular basis, and the staff communicated with each other whenever needed. Through the process of signing an MOU and technology usage contract, the service could then be launched officially in 2018. For evaluation, the service underwent a test operation period. During this time, issues were resolved and details of the project were improved through collaboration between the department of welfare policy, individual community service centers, SKT, and Lucis. The community service centers selected the potential service recipients and the district office established partnership and funded the project, while the telecommunication company offered its services along with system development and management capacity. A social enterprise also offered system operation and data analysis and reporting services. As such various interested parties cooperated to improve the sustainability of the project, in the end an innovate solitary death prevention system was successfully created.

In the past, agriculture ruled the world. The country that produced the largest amount of crops was the most powerful country. Then the Industrial Revolution came along. Countries which failed to adopt it and stayed in agriculture became poor. Countries that adopted the Industrial Revolution as a new opportunity quickly rose to power. Now, the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution has come. If we resist it and insist upon staying with the old ways, we will fall behind, and we will not be able to make our citizens happy and content. Welcoming the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, we must revolutionize public administration and actively seek to harness private technologies. We must accept the fact that private services have greater efficiency, convenience, and acceptance than public administration. For the sake of citizen welfare and the betterment of their lives, we must actively adopt the excellent technologies and systems of the private sector and adequately implement them in public administration. Starting with the use of KakaoTalk messenger, mobile phones, and AI speakers based on collaboration with the private sector to create an innovative way to identify welfare blind spots and to prevent solitary deaths, we will continue to integrate our services with cutting-edge technologies to lead innovation in public administration.