Geumcheon-gu and BGF Retail signed an MOU on Wednesday to build a suicide prevention and life-care safety network, supporting residents' mental health awareness through everyday spaces such as convenience stores.
Geumcheon-gu signed a memorandum of understanding with convenience store franchise BGF Retail on Wednesday morning at the district office's planning situation room to build a suicide prevention and life-care safety network.
Under the agreement, 98 CU convenience stores in Geumcheon-gu will be designated as "life-loving convenience stores." The district and CU aim to establish a close public-private cooperation framework to identify high-risk individuals early and contribute to residents' mental health and suicide prevention.
The initiative aligns with the government's Fifth Basic Plan for Suicide Prevention, which calls for building region-tailored suicide prevention systems. By leveraging convenience stores — spaces with frequent daily contact with residents — the district aims to weave a tighter suicide prevention safety net into everyday life.
Each participating store will display a "life-loving convenience store" plaque sticker. Inside, stickers carrying mental health messages will be posted, and "CU Maeum Sarang" (mind-care) disposable wooden chopsticks will be made available so residents can naturally become more attentive to their mental health in the course of daily life.
The district also plans to promote mental health self-checkups through QR codes at participating stores and will offer CU gift vouchers through a raffle among participants to encourage voluntary engagement.
Following the signing, the district plans to set up promotional spaces inside the stores in September and launch a full public awareness campaign for the life-loving convenience store initiative.
"We joined forces with BGF Retail so that convenience stores found throughout our neighborhoods can serve as spaces that look after residents' mental health and protect lives," Geumcheon-gu District Mayor Choi Ki-chan said. "We will continue to expand cooperation with the private sector to build a tight suicide prevention safety net across the community."
The life-loving convenience store program is the second public-private cooperation project following the "neighborhood mind laundromat" initiative. The district said it plans to broaden its partnerships to cover a wider range of businesses closely tied to residents' daily lives, further strengthening the suicide prevention safety net.
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