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Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Public Agency for Social Service Certify 26 High-Quality Social Service Providers to Strengthen Public Trust

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, together with the Busan Public Agency for Social Service (President Yu Kyu-won), it will hold the 2025 Social Service Quality Certification Ceremony today (December 9) at 14:00 in the Grand Auditorium of the Busan Social Welfare Center, awarding certificates and plaques to 26 institutions.

The Social Service Quality Certification System (hereinafter “the certification system”) evaluates the service provision capacity and operational adequacy of social service providers and grants a certification mark to those meeting the criteria. Following its first implementation in 2024, this year marks its second cycle.

The city and the Busan Public Agency for Social Service strengthened the system’s foundation by improving evaluation indicators based on advisory group feedback and comments from last year’s certified institutions, and by training professional quality certification evaluators beginning in March.

A total of 47 institutions applied during the recruitment period in June. After preliminary requirement reviews, self-assessments, document reviews, and on-site evaluations, 26 institutions were selected.

The certification covers six service types* under the Busan Community Social Service Investment Project in the fields of counseling, care, and capacity building. The evaluation assessed four comprehensive areas: institutional operation and service delivery system; user-centered service performance; service quality, safety, and rights protection; and performance management and improvement efforts.

• ●Six services under the Busan Community Social Service Investment Project: Psychological Healing for Children and Youth, Child Emotional Development Support, Family Emotional Connection, Brain Health Stimulation (Dementia Prevention), Marine History and Culture Experience, and “Let’s Play with Fairy Tales” (Storytelling Program).

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Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Public Agency for Social Service will provide three years of follow-up management and various incentives (promotion, consultation, etc.) to help certified institutions deliver improved services.

During the three-year validity period of certification, institutions will receive monitoring and inspections on their operational status, along with quality management consultation. The city also plans to share outstanding practices to promote continuous improvement in the quality of social services across the region.

The list of institutions certified this year will be posted sequentially after the ceremony on the Busan Public Agency for Social Service website (https://busan.pass.or.kr) and the Busan Community Social Service Support Center website (https://ssbn.or.kr).

Meanwhile, to provide high-quality social services and guarantee citizens’ right to choose, the city established its own quality management system reflecting Busan’s welfare environment and citizen needs, and selected seven exemplary institutions for the first time last year (2024).

Although the number of social service providers increased due to the registration-based system, there was a lack of guidelines to reduce quality gaps among institutions and to ensure a reliable standard of service quality for citizens.

Through the certification system, the city expects to identify and promote excellent social service providers, thereby guaranteeing user choice based on trust and expanding access to social services that everyone can rely on.

Yu Kyu-won, President of the Busan Public Agency for Social Service, stated, “The Social Service Quality Certification System officially recognizes the quality management achievements of service providers who have worked tirelessly in the field,” adding, “We will continue collaborating with providers to enhance service quality and build a Busan-style social service model that citizens can trust.”

Jeong Tae-gi, Director-General of Social Welfare at the city, said, “The Social Service Quality Certification System, jointly implemented with the Busan Public Agency for Social Service, is an important initiative to build a more trustworthy welfare service environment for citizens,” noting, “We will continue working closely with the field to advance the quality management system and elevate the level of community services.”