Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation and Korea Loss Adjusters Association sign MOU to support bereaved families of suicide victims
The Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation announced Wednesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Loss Adjusters Association on Tuesday at the foundation's conference room in Jung-gu, Seoul, to support bereaved families of suicide victims and promote a culture of respect for life.
The agreement aims to establish a framework for insurance-related support within the suicide bereavement one-stop service — a program backed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the foundation — to address the practical difficulties faced by bereaved families and contribute to spreading a life-respecting culture.
The suicide bereavement one-stop service dispatches emergency responders from suicide prevention centers, also known as mental health welfare centers, within 24 hours of a suicide incident. The service provides bereaved families with psychological support, environmental and financial assistance — including specialized cleaning, temporary housing, post-death administrative processing, legal and administrative support, children's tuition, and mental health treatment costs — as well as connections to welfare services.
The service currently operates in 12 cities and provinces and is set to expand nationwide in July, reaching Busan, Ulsan, Gyeonggi Province and North Jeolla Province, among others.
The key provisions of the MOU include joint cooperation on raising awareness of life-respecting values and support for bereaved families of suicide victims, mutual cooperation in building a legal and administrative support framework for those families, and coordinated activities linked to the "Life Love Partner" project.
Beginning in the second half of the year, when the suicide bereavement one-stop service expands nationwide, the two organizations plan to open a dedicated insurance consultation channel for bereaved families to ease their psychological burden. They will also provide expert consultations from public-interest loss adjusters on complex insurance policy interpretation and claims procedures, helping families receive the services they need in a timely manner.
Jung Yun-soon, chairperson of the Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation, said insurance-related matters require specialized knowledge and can themselves be a burden for families already navigating numerous administrative processes. "We hope this agreement will open a channel of practical help for families in distress and take root as a social safety net that allows them to rebuild their lives," she said.
Min Byung-jin, president of the Korea Loss Adjusters Association, said loss adjusters carry social responsibilities as professionals who protect the legitimate rights and interests of insurance consumers. "We will actively contribute to supporting bereaved families of suicide victims and strengthening the social safety net by applying our public-interest expertise," he said.
thlee@heraldcorp.com
