Gyeonggi Province Strengthens Life Safety Network in Economic and Youth Sectors Through Suicide Prevention Task Force

Gyeonggi Province is strengthening community life safety networks through the 'Gyeonggi Province Suicide Prevention Countermeasures Task Force (TF),' which includes mutual training between economic institutions and suicide prevention centers, and the development of youth life safety protocols.

The Gyeonggi Province Suicide Prevention Countermeasures Task Force, which commenced in December of last year, is chaired by Kim Seong-joong, First Vice Governor for Administration (and Suicide Prevention Officer), and comprises operating divisions, the Gyeonggi Province Office of Education, public institutions, related agencies, and experts. The task force is divided into four subcommittees: economy, youth, depression, and research and statistical analysis, through which suicide prevention measures for Gyeonggi Province are being implemented.

Among these, the Economic Division has promoted mutual training between economic-related institutions such as the Gyeonggi Welfare Foundation, the Savings Bank Promotion Agency, and the Credit Recovery Committee, and suicide prevention centers, approximately 10 times, while strengthening inter-agency cooperation and coordination systems. This takes into account the connection between economic hardship and mental health and suicide crisis.

Through these efforts, the crisis detection capacity of economic institution workers has been enhanced, enabling financial counseling sites to serve as 'windows for early detection of suicide risk,' allowing economic difficulties related to debt and liabilities to be detected and addressed before they escalate into suicide crises.

Additionally, to address the complex life crises of middle-aged and older adults, Gyeonggi Province has established the one-stop support platform 'Gyeonggi 4060 Mind Plus+,' providing a support system where policy and service information in nine sectors—employment, finance, law, housing, education, family, livelihood, medical care, and mental health—can be accessed in one place. Going forward, the organization plans to continuously supplement service information by reflecting usage trends and on-site feedback, while strengthening links with suicide prevention agencies to lead to substantial crisis support.

The Youth Division has developed the 'Gyeonggi Province Youth Linkage Protocol: LIFE LINK' with experts from 12 institutions, specifying the roles of each agency and linkage procedures from crisis detection to risk assessment, specialist agency connection, and continued counseling and monitoring for use in the field.

The 'LIFE LINK' protocol organically links the roles and functions of various youth contact agencies both inside and outside schools with suicide prevention and mental health-related agencies, structured to rapidly connect youth to necessary agencies according to their crisis situations and risk levels.

In particular, institutions responsible for youth daily life and crisis response—schools (Wee Project), youth counseling and welfare centers, out-of-school and out-of-home youth support centers, Infinite Care Centers, family centers, mental health and welfare centers and suicide prevention centers, Life and Love Crisis Response Centers, and police and fire departments—have been categorized into four functional areas: discovery and counseling, mental health and suicide crisis, family, protection and care, and independence and support, with agency roles and linkage procedures systematized.

Furthermore, an integrated response algorithm and inter-agency collaboration system have been presented to ensure that wherever youth crisis signals are detected, they can be connected in a timely manner to appropriate agencies according to risk level and situation. Through this, gaps in information and role discontinuity between agencies have been reduced, and a community-based integrated response system has been strengthened to enable youth in crisis situations to receive necessary support rapidly and receive continuous protection and support.

Gyeonggi Province plans to continuously supplement linkage procedures and agency roles by reflecting field application results and opinions from relevant agencies, and develop them into an effective youth suicide crisis response system tailored to regional circumstances.

Um Won-ja, Director of the Mental Health Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Going forward, Gyeonggi Province will continue to discover sector-specific cooperation tasks through the suicide prevention countermeasures task force, strengthen collaboration between the province, 31 cities and counties, and related agencies, and make efforts to realize a 'Gyeonggi Province that does not lose a single life' through building a life safety community."

Meanwhile, Governor Choo Mie-ae of Gyeonggi Province announced at the '2026 Suicide Prevention Day Commemorative Event' on the 14th a goal to reduce the suicide rate by 20 percent by 2030, as part of the life safety vision for the 9th term of civilian government.