Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Firefighters' Psychological Support Team (Director: Professor Yun Myeong-suk) has signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Family Center and 14 city and county family centers across the province to establish an integrated psychological support and family support system for firefighters and their families.

This agreement is significant because the JBNU Firefighters' Psychological Support Team is expanding support for firefighters' psychological recovery beyond individual counseling to a system that encompasses families and local communities. In particular, establishing a cooperative system simultaneously with 14 city and county family centers at the provincial level is the first case nationwide.

Firefighters are repeatedly exposed to disaster and accident scenes and experience high levels of occupational stress and psychological burden. Such difficulties can affect not only individual mental health but also family relationships and daily life. Therefore, continuous and systematic family-level support is necessary.

Through this agreement, both organizations will cooperate on △linking psychological support for firefighters and their families △supporting family counseling and family relationship enhancement programs △joint operation of mental health and family support programs △building a community safety net through mutual cooperation.

In particular, by connecting its professional psychological support services with the family counseling services of regional family centers, the Firefighters' Psychological Support Team expects to create a foundation that allows firefighters experiencing psychological difficulties to more easily access necessary services, from individual counseling to family support and linkage to community resources.

Yun Myeong-suk, Director of the JBNU Firefighters' Psychological Support Center, said, "Protecting the mental health of firefighters cannot be achieved by approaches that target only individuals. It is important that the families and communities closest to the firefighters take interest and provide support together. This agreement is a meaningful starting point for connecting diverse community resources so that firefighters and their families can receive timely assistance when they face difficulties."

She added, "The JBNU Firefighters' Psychological Support Center will go beyond its role as a specialized psychological support institution and build a community-based integrated support system that looks after the lives of firefighters and their families."

Meanwhile, since 2025 the JBNU Firefighters' Psychological Support Center has been operated by JBNU Industry-University Cooperation and provides various psychological support services for firefighters, including outreach counseling, psychological testing and in-depth counseling, case management, group counseling, and emergency psychological support.

Building on the MOUs with the 14 city and county family centers, the plan is to develop a sustainable psychological support network in partnership with local communities that supports not only individual psychological care for firefighters but also healthy family relationships and recovery.