Page 64 - U4SSC Case study Daegu, Korea (Republic of), February 2022

The department in charge analyses the inhabitant’s feedback from Dudeuriso and Talk Daegu, and
reports the analysis to decision makers to ensure that they can make the necessary changes quickly.

There is yet another programme designed to understand an inhabitant’s needs, called the “Citizen-
Centric Smart Communication Programme”. This programme assists inhabitants to pinpoint urban
problems, discover solutions and put these solutions into practice.

6.3.5 Support for vulnerable people

Daegu is in the process of verifying a smart home service for about 300 households where seniors
live alone. The service analyses the life patterns of these vulnerable people with information
collected from various sensors in the house and identifies any unusual signs to prevent accidents
in advance.

Daegu is also building a non-face-to-face payment platform that connects public supply and
consumer data for private food delivery services to ensure food support for vulnerable people.
This platform continues to operate even if schools and free meal sites are closed in the face of
national disasters such as the spread of infectious diseases.

6.3.6 Crisis management in the advent of COVID-19

In Daegu, the COVID-19 outbreak started due to a collective infection in Shincheonji in February
2020. The result was that Daegu received negative publicity within the Republic of Korea and around
the world. However, due to the successful measures implemented, Daegu is now considered to be
an exemplary city that has mitigated and controlled COVID-19 successfully.

On 18 February 2020, a “Disaster Safety Countermeasure Headquarters” was established
immediately after the first confirmed case of COVID-19.

With the Mayor at the centre, experts in civil safety, disaster management, emergency life- safety
support, medicine and immunology, quarantine, disaster recovery and supply management were
established as a single team to address all COVID-19-related issues and responses.

46 U4SSC Case study | Daegu, Korea (Republic of) | February 2022