Gangwon Province's integrated care system and disaster welfare response framework have been ranked first in the nation.
The Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Social Service Agency was named the top-performing institution nationwide in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 2026 social service agency management and performance evaluation — covering 2025 results — earning an S rating, the highest grade, for the third consecutive year.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, one recognized best practice — a Gangwon-style integrated care system — drew high marks for its proactive and specialized response ahead of the enforcement of the Care Integration Support Act. The program secured funding through a competitive grant from the Community Chest of Korea's Gangwon chapter, used it to run a pilot project in Hoengseong-gun, an area with limited care infrastructure, and provided integrated care services to high-risk groups including people with mental illness and dementia.
The program's strengthened support for vulnerable areas — including border regions and former coal-mining communities — was recognized as the foundation for a metropolitan-scale integrated care model.
A Gangwon-style disaster welfare response system was recognized as the first of its kind in the country, credited with building an innovative disaster welfare ecosystem through multi-agency collaboration, introducing a new welfare model for disaster response and spreading its adoption nationwide.
The evaluation covered social service agencies in all 15 cities and provinces and assessed overall institutional operations across five areas in two categories: management (leadership, management systems, and communication and accountability) and performance (key projects and policy outcomes). This year's assessment focused on field-driven policy implementation, cooperative frameworks with diverse stakeholders, demand-centered service quality management, and each agency's ongoing efforts at institutional innovation.
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