Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, on the 30th unveiled his second pledge, "Seoul to restore mental stamina." While his first pledge aimed at citizens' physical vitality, the second pledge says the city system will directly manage mental health, including invisible isolation and loneliness.
On the afternoon of the same day, Oh held a pledge announcement event at Mind Convenience Store in Sillim-dong, Gwanak District.
Mind Convenience Store is a space prepared so anyone can rest and communicate comfortably with a bowl of ramen and a cup of tea as a medium. It is a core program of Seoul's ongoing "Seoul without loneliness" policy. It took into account that isolated and withdrawn young people who avoid going out visit the store regularly. Last year, 60,000 people used it, and it showed a satisfaction rate of 91.3%.
Accordingly, Oh plans to install at least one Mind Convenience Store in every district in Seoul. In addition, in areas dense with single-person households, he plans to operate a "mobile Mind Convenience Store" to maximize access to psychological support.
Oh also announced plans to launch a "citywide mind reconstruction project" to remove the threshold for psychological counseling that had been limited to high-risk groups. With a total budget of 16 billion won, the city plans to provide private professional psychological counseling vouchers to 100,000 citizens annually. Counseling will be supported up to eight sessions per person (80,000 won per session), and a system will be established for the public sector to intervene preemptively before mild mental health problems worsen into severe illnesses.
Plans were also shared to expand offline healing hubs that can be felt in daily life. A downtown healing space, "Seoul Ita Place," will be created by utilizing the natural resources of Seoul Forest in Seongsu-dong.
A close-knit care network for middle-aged men in their 50s and 60s will also be launched. Using administrative data such as unemployment or divorce, the city will proactively identify households in crisis and build a "constant well-being check system" combining AI (artificial intelligence) and KakaoTalk. Benchmarking the United Kingdom's "Men's Shed," the city will also establish a community space exclusively for middle-aged men that supports emotional recovery through productive activities such as woodworking.
A total of 109 billion won will be invested in the "isolated and withdrawn youth project" through 2030. Dedicated medical centers called "Youth Mind Clinics" will be newly established at Eunpyeong Hospital and other facilities to provide specialized treatment, and a "family support living lab" will be operated to help families participate in recovery.
Oh said, "Not leaving anyone lonely is the foundation of Seoul, the 'special city for quality of life,'" adding, "We will make the city of Seoul itself the strongest 'seat belt for the mind' that supports citizens' hard lives."