Seoul's Vulnerable Companion Index Rises 15.4% Last Year, All 6 Sectors Improved

An evaluation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's "Companion to the Vulnerable" policy, a key governance philosophy of Mayor Oh Se-hoon, showed that indices across all six major evaluation areas rose together for the first time last year.

Significant increases were observed in sectors such as safety, livelihood and care, and education and culture for vulnerable groups, while indices for social integration and housing also rebounded from declines in the previous year.

During a briefing at Seoul City Hall on Monday afternoon, the city government announced that the 2025 Vulnerable Companion Index was calculated at 150.7, representing a 15.4% (20.1-point) increase compared to the previous year.

The Vulnerable Companion Index measures the degree of policy performance change, setting 2022—the year Seoul launched the "Companion to the Vulnerable" policy—as a baseline value of 100.

The final figure is calculated through performance analysis by the Seoul Institute and verification by an external evaluation panel consisting of 100 citizens and experts.

The index has risen for three consecutive years, recording 111.0 in 2023, 130.6 in 2024, and 150.7 last year.

Last year, notably, all six evaluated sectors posted increases, indicating the tangible effects of the policies.

While four sectors—medical and health, safety, livelihood and care, and education and culture—improved in 2024, two sectors, housing and social integration, had regressed. In the latest survey, however, indices across all six categories improved.

By sector, the safety category saw the largest surge, jumping 49.3 points (33.1%) from 148.9 in 2024 to 198.2 last year.

Contributing factors included more than doubling the number of isolated and reclusive youth identified and supported from 891 to 1,882, and expanding households monitored for lonely death prevention from 70,651 to 74,809.

Closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) for crime prevention per 10,000 residents increased from 103.94 to 113.64 over the same period.

The livelihood and care sector also jumped 31.4 points (24.6%) from 127.8 to 159.2.

This growth was driven by increased support, such as more than doubling the number of vulnerable small business owners receiving assistance from 1,346 to 3,037, and expanding welfare service connections for family-care youth from 431 to 623.

The education and culture sector rose 10.2% from 111.3 to 122.7, while the medical and health sector increased 4.2% from 156.5 to 163.0.

These increases stemmed from expanded support, including customized assistance for education-alienated groups rising from 411,168 to 445,419 people, and a 16.3% increase in mental health support for children, adolescents, and young adults from 22,721 to 26,422 people.

Sectors that declined the previous year, such as housing and social integration, also successfully rebounded.

The housing sector edged up 1.2% from 120.3 to 121.8.

The increase was influenced by a rise in public rental housing stock of 12,371 units over the year, growing from 263,071 to 275,442 units.

However, the scale of housing upward mobility support, which helps vulnerable groups relocate to public rental housing, decreased by 0.9% from 5,468 units to 5,418 units.

Social integration, which had fallen for two consecutive years, rebounded for the first time, rising 4.1% from 95.6 to 99.5.

Nevertheless, it remained the only one among the six sectors failing to recover its baseline value.

Within the social integration sector, the citizen volunteer participation rate increased from 6.36% to 6.78%, and the donation experience rate rose from 26.38% to 28.81%.

Seoul analyzed that proactively identifying citizens in policy blind spots and expanding the scope of support targets and services led to the overall index improvement.

The city has allocated 15.6359 trillion won for vulnerable companion-related budget this year, an increase of 870.4 billion won (5.9%) from last year.

Based on the evaluation results, the city plans to supplement support targets and delivery systems in areas requiring relatively more improvement, while expanding projects whose effectiveness has been proven.

Seoul also plans to continuously refine the Vulnerable Companion Index itself.

By reflecting rapidly changing social demands such as aging, low birth rates, and technological advancement into the index, and examining whether current policies are properly captured by the indicators, the city aims to ensure that index improvements translate into tangible benefits felt by citizens.

The city expects to complete the supplementation of the indicator system through expert consultation in the second half of this year and apply the improved Vulnerable Companion Index starting with next year's evaluation.

Lee Dong-ryul, acting director-general of policy planning and coordination for the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, "The rise across all six areas is the result of continuously discovering blind spots and strengthening necessary support. We will continuously monitor areas and indicators that require relatively more improvement and enhance projects based on the evaluation results to elevate the quality of citizens' lives."

(Photo: Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.