Two research teams from the Department of Social Welfare BK21 Project Division for Training Future Welfare Personnel for Regional Innovation (Director Yun Myung-sook) received the Best and Excellence awards for outstanding research at the 47th Public Health General Academic Conference, recently held by the Korean Public Health Association.

The conference, held under the theme "Better Health for All — New Public Health Challenges for the New Administration," brought together various researchers in the field of public health to present diverse research outcomes.

The Department of Social Welfare BK21 Project Division at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) presented research outcomes by the team of Jeon Ye-bin (PhD candidate), Jeong Su-kyung (Master’s candidate), and Research Professor Lee Su-bi titled "The Relationship Between Employment Type and Depression During the COVID-19 Period: The Dual Mediating Effects of Changes in Daily Life and Anxiety," for which they received the Best Award, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner’s Award.

Another research team composed of Research Professor Lee Su-bi, Im Mi-jin (PhD candidate), Shin Ye-rim (Master’s candidate), and Yun Myung-sook, Director of the BK21 Project Division, presented research outcomes titled "Gender Differences in the Relationship Among Unemployment, Depression, and Suicide During the COVID-19 Period: Using Internet Search Trend Data," and received the Excellence Award, the Korean Public Health Association President’s Award.

Yun Myung-sook, Director of the BK21 Project Division, said, "It is of great significance that our BK21 Project Division's academic achievements have been recognized and that we can share these excellent research outcomes domestically and internationally," and added, "I hope these research outcomes will be used as basic data and empirical evidence to promote public mental health in the post-COVID era."

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare BK21 Project Division is conducting various industry–university–research cooperation projects, focusing on regional and social innovation and aiming to train future social welfare professionals. These include invited lectures by internationally renowned scholars, continuous seminars, and community engagement.