LG Uplus announced on the 1st that it has decided to strengthen its cooperation with the educational community Urinuri Social Cooperative to resolve the after-school 'care waiting' problem for elementary school students in northern Gyeonggi Province.
On the 29th of last month, LG Uplus and Urinuri Social Cooperative signed a business agreement at LG Uplus's Yongsan headquarters in Seoul for the ‘enhancement of community care establishment projects’.
According to a Ministry of Education announcement, as of May 2023, about 8,700 elementary school students who applied for after-school care classes nationwide are revealed to be waiting without receiving care services. It was found that more than half, or 5,500, of these are elementary school students in Gyeonggi Province, and a similar number of local elementary students were estimated to have been in a 'care waiting' status last year.
Children who are unable to enter care classes must rely on private education until their after-school caregivers return home, and those who cannot even receive private education are left alone at home and end up in a care blind spot.
To address these blind spots, LG Uplus and the educational community Urinuri Social Cooperative have decided to actively utilize artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) technology and strengthen connections with community online and offline care services.
First, LG Uplus will provide a home CCTV 'Super Mom Cam' equipped with AIoT technology to the homes of children who are in a care waiting status. The Super Mom Cam detects the child's location and facial expressions in real-time and helps the caregiver communicate anytime by recognizing the child's voice. This allows the caregiver to respond quickly to sudden situations and provides emotional stability for children staying alone at home.
Since last year, Urinuri Social Cooperative has been providing emotional support and care programs to children through online mentoring and conducting offline activities utilizing local community networks to fill the care gaps. LG Uplus is also supporting related activities by providing educational content for children.
Both sides confirmed practical results such as reducing the caregiver burden from the first phase project involving 75 children in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, last year, and decided to nearly double the number of participants this year and continue cooperation for business expansion in the future.
An Byeong-gyeong, a senior executive at LG Uplus, said, 'LG Uplus will spare no technical support to ensure that activities to resolve the care blind spots for elementary school students lead to more parents' peace of mind.'
Kim Hyun-a, chairperson of Urinuri Social Cooperative, stated, 'By utilizing LG Uplus's AIoT devices and self-directed learning content, we will be able to alleviate care gaps online and create a care environment unrestricted by location through Urinuri's regionally specialized program content and mentor cultivation. We will continuously expand the business to ensure that more children can receive care benefits.'