Korean Journal of Psychology: General
- KOREAN
- P-ISSN1229-067X
- E-ISSN2734-1127
- KCI
ISSN : 1229-067X
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Vol.45 No.2
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the historical significance of the Psychologist Act bill introduced in April 2022 during the 21st National Assembly. By reviewing the social and policy contexts of its proposal and its core contents, this study discusses implications for future legislation. Despite South Korea’s lower-than-average life satisfaction among OECD member countries and its persistently high suicide rates, the country still lacks independent legislation defining “psychologists” who provide professional, psychology-based services, unlike most other countries. This study reviewed policy-related materials produced since 2019—prior to the bill’s introduction—including public hearings, policy forums, government-commissioned research reports, and statements from National Assembly audits, focusing primarily on the activities of the Korean Psychological Association. The proposed Psychologist Act can be understood as a convergence of policy demands and advocacy by professional groups into a legislative initiative. Furthermore, it holds significance as a policy choice to establish psychological services as a sustainable, systematic public service domain rather than a temporary or supplementary welfare measure. The non-enactment of the bill, which was introduced during the 21st National Assembly and the 50th presidential term of the Korean Psychological Association, indicates that several critical challenges remained in the legislative process. These include achieving social consensus on the scope of service interventions, refining standards for professional workforce management, and designing a system harmonized with existing credentialing frameworks. Future legislative discussions should seek strategic ways to address these challenges.
Abstract
The first-line intervention for common mental disorders (depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress) is evidence-based psychotherapy. Despite its preference among the general population in Korea, the need for service has been not met due to a lack of organizational and systematic support in the community. The study aims to identify the psychotherapy utilization rate and explore various factors influencing utilization and help-seeking attitudes among Seoul citizens with depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The results showed that the psychotherapy utilization rate was 16.3%, and age, income, living alone, vulnerability, mental disorders, and positive help-seeking attitude significantly affected psychotherapy utilization in binominal logistic regression analysis. In addition, multiple regression analysis showed that gender, income, and occupation were the factors that significantly influenced positive help-seeking attitude. The results indicate that despite the high density of mental health services in the city, most Seoul citizens with common mental disorders were not able to access psychotherapy, and various aspects of demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological factors act as barriers to psychotherapy utilization. Based on these findings, we discussed ways to complement and promote public psychotherapy delivery systems and psychotherapy regulation, to close the gap in access to psychotherapy with expertise.
Abstract
After the COVID-19 pandemic and several large-scale national disasters, persistent concerns have been raised regarding the lack of a public response system for mild to moderate psychological difficulties and the absence of a legal foundation for psychological services. Motivated by the reintroduction of the Psychological Counselors Act in 2025, this study synthesizes previous academic discussions and reviews recent international guidelines and oversea cases. This paper aims to comprehensively reexamine the definition of psychological services and their providers, qualification standards, and the relationship with existing national licensure systems. In addition, we also discuss the role of psychological professionals within interdisciplinary collaborative systems and analyze their legislative implications. We propose that the Psychological Counselors Act should be reconsidered not merely in terms of professional interests, but from the broader perspective of advancing the public value of mental health promotion.
Abstract
Since 2024, the Korean Psychological Association (KPA) has operated the Seoul Metropolitan Psychological Support Center (SMPSC) under commission from the Seoul Metropolitan Government. This initiative reflects an alignment between municipal policy efforts to strengthen public psychological services and KPA’s commitment to advancing evidence-based psychological assessment and treatment. Over the past two years, SMPSC has sought to establish a role distinct from existing public psychological service systems while remaining closely responsive to service needs in practice. Its primary functions have included outcome monitoring of publicly funded psychological services, the provision of evidence-based training and supervision for service providers, and collaboration with existing service systems to address institutional gaps within the current public service framework. In 2026, the scope of SMPSC's functions has further expanded, reflecting a series of policy changes, including the transfer of the Seoul Disaster Psychological Assistance Team (SDPAT) to SMPSC and the expansion of the target population covered by the National Mental Health Counseling Voucher Program.. While this expansion represents a meaningful and encouraging development, establishing SMPSC as a sustainable model for the broad public implementation of evidence-based psychological practice will require continued articulation of its core function, clearly differentiated from existing public psychological service systems, along with comprehensive service planning and operational strategies grounded in everyday practice realities and sustained collaboration across professional disciplines.