Gunpo City Launches Essential ‘Well-Being Postal Service’ to Prevent Social Isolation

Gunpo City announced it will launch a “Check-In Mail Service” starting May 6 to support residents living in social isolation. 

Under the program, mail carriers from local post offices will visit isolated households to deliver essential supplies and conduct welfare checks. Officials say regular visits to those at risk of dying alone will help build a more robust local safety net. 

The city was selected for a grant program by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in March. In April, Gunpo signed a memorandum of understanding with the post office and held a briefing for staff and departments responsible for preventing deaths among people living alone. 

The city finalized neighborhood-by-neighborhood recipient lists and will begin full service in May. The program will cover roughly 10 people per neighborhood, about 100 residents in total.

On April 24, the Welfare Policy Division held a preparatory meeting to outline the program’s objectives and to brief mail carriers on protocols for interacting with recipients. Officials gathered field feedback and finalized their preparations. 

City officials expect the “Check-In Mail Service” to play a key role in strengthening the local welfare safety net by maintaining sustained attention and support for socially isolated households. 

Gunpo — Seung-sik Lee, Reporter thankslee57@viva100.com