Answer the Lifeline ③ Government Doubles Workforce, Adopts AI…Local Lifelines Remain Stalled

※ Editor's Note = As Suicide Prevention Day approaches, the government and local governments are emphasizing the value of life preservation. However, are calls for help during times of crisis reaching those in need? News S will examine the suicide prevention counseling systems in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon, the status of compliance with legal obligations, and the response gap between the central and local governments across three installments.

While the government is nearly doubling the counseling workforce and introducing artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the connection rate of the suicide prevention hotline '109', the reinforcement of personnel and technology for regional crisis counseling hotlines remains unclear, presenting a stark contrast.

According to data submitted to the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on the 15th by Rep. Huh Jong-sik of the Democratic Party (Incheon Dong-gu, Michuhol-gu District A), calls received by 109 last year totaled 352,914, nearly double the 176,864 calls in 2022.

However, during the same period, the response rate dropped from 62.0% to 47.3%. Last year, 167,080 calls actually resulted in counseling sessions.

The government's prescription was 'workforce expansion.'

At the end of last year, Center 1 of 109 had only 74 staff members out of a capacity of 100, and Center 2 had 30 out of a capacity of 50. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to expand Center 2's capacity to 100 people and begin additional hiring, with the goal of filling 200 positions across Centers 1 and 2 by next month.

When the Ministry actually announced its large-scale workforce expansion plan in May, the counseling staff numbered 103. According to the plan, this would nearly double in just a few months.

'AI' will also be deployed.

The Ministry plans to introduce an AI counseling support system to 109 in November. The system will support functions including converting counseling content to text, assessing risk levels for each counseling case and providing response guidance, and managing counseling records.

In particular, the goal is to reduce the time counselors spend writing counseling logs after calls from the existing 20 minutes to 5 minutes. The aim is to reduce non-counseling work so counselors can handle more calls.

In the first quarter, 109 received an average of 1,118 calls per day. The average number of calls handled per day was 532, filling 92% of the maximum capacity of 580 calls at that time.

The Ministry itself determined that simply increasing the number of counselors has limitations. This is why it is simultaneously pursuing both workforce expansion and operational efficiency improvements through AI.

However, the approach to the regional counseling network differs.

The Mental Health Crisis Counseling Hotline (1577-0199) operated by Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, and other areas has no government-level large-scale personnel expansion or AI counseling support system implementation plans like 109.

In the case of 109, the government directly determines the scale of counseling staff and pursues expansion and system improvements, but the scale of counseling staff and phone lines for 1577-0199 is determined by each local government.

AI is no different.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the AI counseling support system to be introduced in November was developed to match 109's counseling data and phone system, and there are currently no plans to apply it to the regional 1577-0199.

Ultimately, while crisis counseling hotline connection issues are occurring simultaneously in the central and local governments, there is a difference in how these problems are being addressed.

When the government's response rate for 109 dropped to 47.3% last year, it announced countermeasures including expanding personnel up to 200 and introducing AI.

Meanwhile, how much to strengthen the personnel, phone lines, and systems of regional crisis counseling hotlines remains dependent on the policy decisions of the respective local governments.

A Ministry official said, "The AI system being introduced to 109 was developed based on 109's counseling data and system, so it is difficult to apply it directly to the regional 1577-0199," and "The operation of counseling staff and phone lines for 1577-0199 is an area handled by each local government, and there are no plans to expand 109's system to the regional level."