[Anchor]
The number of subscribers to Seoul's health management app, "Sonmok Doctor 9988," has surpassed 3 million. The app rewards users with points for health management activities, including walking, and indicators show that Seoul citizens' health metrics have been improving since its introduction.
This week's news from Seoul is prepared by Reporter Yun Nara.
[Reporter]
A sports event was held at Yeouido Hangang Park.
Hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the sports day event, themed "Walking Sports Day," was held to celebrate Sonmok Doctor 9988, the smart health management app, exceeding 3 million subscribers.
Nearly 10,000 citizens gathered for the evening sports event by the Han River, participating in activities such as breaking piñatas, tug-of-war, and hanging from pull-up bars.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who walked along the Han River to reach the venue, also broke a sweat alongside the citizens.
Sonmok Doctor 9988 is an app that supports health management by rewarding users with points when they participate in health activities such as walking. After surpassing 1 million subscribers in June 2024, the subscriber count grew to 3.03 million over a period of 2 years and 4 months.
According to a survey conducted last year by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Seoul's walking practice rate stood at 69%, ranking first and nearly 20% higher than the national average. Meanwhile, the adult obesity rate dropped from 31% in 2024 to 30.2% last year, showing improvements in health indicators.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand its support from physical health management to include mental health care for citizens.
[Oh Se-hoon / Mayor of Seoul: We have made it possible for Seoul citizens to always take care of their physical health. On top of that, under the initiative of a loneliness-free Seoul, we have also begun taking care of mental health.]
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The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has allocated 1.1022 trillion KRW for next year's firefighting budget, an increase of 25.8 billion KRW compared to this year.
The city has reflected the budget necessary to expand protective equipment for firefighters, ease their workload, and improve aging working environments. It will also concurrently promote health and welfare support, such as expanding emergency standby meal support and counseling programs.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that although government support from the national treasury decreased by 17.1 billion KRW compared to this year, it increased local financial resources by 42.9 billion KRW to compile an increased overall firefighting budget proposal.
(Photo: Yonhap News / Video Reporting: Kim Heung-ki, Video Editing: Park Sun-su)
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