Seongdong-gu in Seoul said it has signed MOUs with 26 Care SOS service providers, establishing a public-private partnership framework to deliver comprehensive care services to residents.
The Care SOS project is a customized care program that rapidly connects residents in urgent or temporary need of assistance with the appropriate services.
Core services include temporary in-home care (housekeeping and nursing), short-term facility stays of up to 14 days, accompanied outings for essential errands, residential convenience support such as minor home repairs and cleaning, and meal delivery.
The district selected the 26 providers in June through an open recruitment process, evaluating each organization on staffing, safety, service quality and capacity for collaboration. A signing ceremony was held Wednesday, followed by mandatory training to lay the groundwork for stable program operations and to align providers on their roles and service standards.
Of the 26 partner organizations — some of which offer more than one service type — 21 provide temporary in-home care, two offer short-term facility stays, and 12 deliver accompanied outing, residential support and meal services.
The expansion from 21 providers last year to 26 this year is expected to broaden residents' choices while improving both accessibility and service quality.
Seongdong-gu has been a pilot district for the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Care SOS Center program since 2019, providing a range of care services to residents who fall through the gaps in the existing support system. In 2025 alone, the program connected 2,356 beneficiaries with 8,578 customized care services.
Starting this year, the district expanded eligibility for out-of-pocket cost subsidies — previously limited to households earning up to 100 percent of the median income standard — to cover those earning up to 160 percent, allowing more residents to access care services.
The district is also running the "Seongdong-type Care SOS Daily Living Care Service," which extends housekeeping support to weekends and public holidays to supplement the existing weekday-focused care offerings.
"This agreement will further strengthen the public-private partnership foundation needed to deliver faster, higher-quality services to residents who need care," district mayor Yoo Bo-hwa said. "We will build a tight-knit care system so that any resident can receive the support they need, when they need it, and make Seongdong the number-one district for care."
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