The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 4th that the vulnerable population happiness index recorded 130.6 last year. This marks a consecutive increase for two years following the first evaluation in 2023 (111).
The vulnerable population happiness index is a measure developed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in October 2023 to quantify the effectiveness of policies supporting vulnerable populations. It consists of six major areas and 50 detailed indicators, including livelihood and care, housing, medical and health, education and culture, safety, and social integration. The base value is set at 100, based on 2022, when the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its partnership plan with vulnerable populations, meaning that any value above this indicates improved policy effectiveness, while a lower value indicates underperformance.
Among the six major areas, medical and health (156.5), safety (148.9), livelihood and care (127.8), and education and culture (111.3) showed increases compared to the previous year. In contrast, housing (120.3) and social integration (95.6) decreased compared to the previous year.
In particular, the medical and health area increased the most compared to 2023 (120.1). The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that this is a result of responding to demographic changes like aging and social risks such as dementia and mental health issues.
The social integration area was the only one among the six areas to fall below 100. This is the second consecutive year since recording 97.9 in 2023. The Seoul Metropolitan Government analyzed that this was due to a decline in some indicators, such as volunteer participation rates and donation experiences, as a result of the decrease in social trust following COVID-19.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government noted that restoring trust among citizens and encouraging voluntary participation in social contribution activities are necessary for increasing the social integration index.
Jung Sang-hoon, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "We will continue to expand everyday changes that citizens can feel and carefully look into the invisible blind spots to ensure our partnership with the vulnerable continues unwaveringly."
Meanwhile, the comprehensive vulnerable population happiness index announced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government that day can be checked on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website and the Smart Seoul View platform.