The Department of Social Welfare's BK21 Project Division for Training Future Welfare Personnel for Regional Innovation (Director Yun Myeong-suk) is focusing its efforts on supporting the healthy development of regional youth and on establishing related institutional frameworks.

The Project Division said on the 30th that it had supported the operation of a "Program on Interpersonal Relationships and Mental Health for Youths with Conditional Suspension of Prosecution," conducted in conjunction with Jeonbuk National University (JBNU)'s Department of Fine Arts, and had carried out related research.

The program for youths under conditional suspension of prosecution was implemented as part of "Youth Art Therapy J.A.T," organized by JBNU's Department of Fine Arts at the request of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Moon Hong-seong). It was carried out to support youths' healthy development and to establish institutional foundations in the local community for youth services.

For this program, the JBNU Department of Social Welfare's BK21 Project Division participated with a community liaison team composed of Professor Yun Myeong-suk, Professor Kim Seo-hyun, and five field experts in social welfare (doctoral candidates Oh Ji-won, Yu Hyun-kyung, Lee Mi-jin, Jeon Ye-bin, and Choi Mi-seon).

They collaborated in operating programs that used artistic content to support the development of at-risk youth in the community. They promoted regional innovation through professional psychological support, including group and individual in-depth interviews and mental health screening.

Yun Myeong-suk, Director of the Department of Social Welfare's BK21 Project Division, said, "Adolescence is a period when individuals form their identity and experience difficulties in interpersonal relationships and daily life; therefore, at the level of regional innovation, we must actively support youths who have engaged in deviant behavior or who need assistance. Going forward, the Project Division will actively pursue multidisciplinary cooperation to advance regional innovation and future welfare, and will work to lead regional welfare through broad industry–university–research collaboration."