2024.07.17. The Fair Economy — The Socially Isolated Household Support Center under the Seoul Welfare Foundation announced on the 17th that it has conducted a total of 57,721 wellness checks through its smart wellness check service for socially isolated households in the 1 year and 9 months since its opening in October 2022.
The 'smart wellness check service' is a welfare service that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to detect and analyze electricity, communication, and lighting data from daily life 24 hours a day, and checks on individuals when abnormal signals are detected.
The center currently operates the smart welfare check service for 6,664 households across Seoul during weekday nights and weekends and holidays. Over one year and nine months, it carried out 46,905 welfare checks (81.2%) and 353 on-site visits (0.6%), including 38 forced door openings.
When an abnormal signal is detected in lifestyle data such as power or communication use, the center first sends a phone call or text message. If it cannot reach the resident, staff visit the home; if there is no response to knocking or calling out their name, they coordinate with police and fire departments to open the door and confirm the resident's well-being.
The center operates various smart welfare check services for households that require frequent checks, including smart plugs, a one-person household welfare monitoring service, an AI-based welfare assurance service and the "Talk Talk" welfare check service.
A smart plug is an IoT device installed on frequently used appliances such as televisions or microwave ovens to monitor power consumption. It generates a crisis signal if there is no change in power use or lighting for a set period.
The center also monitors household power data (from the Korea Electric Power Corporation) and communication data (from SK Telecom and KT), conducting welfare checks when abnormal signals are detected. Depending on the service, it may additionally check mobile phone usage via an app, call counts and outgoing calls, IoT sensors such as door-opening sensors, and step counts via an app.
Starting this year, the center will monitor for risk factors of solitary death during welfare checks by phone or in person. If risk factors are identified, it will link the household to welfare services and continue follow-up monitoring for high-risk groups.
The smart welfare check service was recognized as a model case in the 2023 Seoul Metropolitan Government comprehensive audit for its pioneering implementation results, and was selected as an excellent case in the 2024 "Seoul City Vulnerable Group Partnership Index Performance Evaluation."
"AI and IoT are filling the blind spots where welfare staff struggle to monitor socially isolated households," said Lee Su-jin, director of the Social Isolation Household Support Center. "Going forward, we will continue to work to prevent solitary deaths and social isolation while improving the smart welfare check service through cooperation with various stakeholders, including local governments, private organizations and citizens."
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