Lee Byung-rae, the newly elected district mayor of Namdong-gu in Incheon, helped a local family navigate a mental health crisis during an extended holiday period in June — before he had even taken office — it emerged Wednesday.
Namdong-gu said Wednesday that a message of thanks had recently been submitted to the National Sinmungo, a government public petition portal, under the title "Newly elected Incheon Namdong-gu District Mayor Lee Byung-rae is a lifesaver." The post described the urgency of the situation and expressed gratitude for Lee's prompt response.
The family at the center of the story lives in Seochang-dong. In early June, a family member identified only as A stopped taking medication, causing a rapid deterioration in symptoms. The family attempted to arrange inpatient treatment but ran into procedural obstacles and resistance from A.
As the condition worsened and the family's anxiety deepened, they turned to Lee — then still the district mayor-elect ahead of his inauguration — as a last resort.
Despite the holiday, Lee immediately grasped the seriousness of the situation and contacted the deputy district mayor and the local public health center, requesting an urgent response.
The public health center and the mental health welfare center then moved quickly, reviewing relevant laws, providing professional counseling, coordinating treatment and supporting medication management. A resumed treatment, recovered and was able to return to daily life.
A's family wrote on the portal: "We had in effect given up hope of getting help during the holiday, but thanks to the attention and support that continued to the end, our whole family was able to escape despair. It is a kindness we will never forget."
"I was not yet in office at the time, but I believed that when a resident's life and safety are at stake, title and timing do not matter," Lee said. "We achieved a good outcome because of the dedication of the medical staff and public servants at the public health center and the mental health welfare center who responded swiftly on the scene."
He added that he would work to build a tighter support network so that people with mental illness and households in crisis can receive help in a timely manner, and pledged to do more to eliminate gaps in welfare coverage.
Namdong-gu said it plans to use this case as an opportunity to strengthen its crisis-response system for high-risk psychiatric patients and to expand cooperation among the public health center, the mental health welfare center and related agencies, enabling faster responses in future emergencies.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
