The South Gyeongsang provincial government has announced a new elderly welfare brand aimed at addressing the four major challenges faced by the elderly. (Image courtesy of Kobiz Media)
CHANGWON, Mar. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – As South Korea’s aging population continues to rise, the South Gyeongsang provincial government has announced a new elderly welfare brand aimed at addressing the four major challenges faced by the elderly – poverty, illness, loneliness, and loss of purpose.
The initiative, unveiled on March 20, seeks to support a fulfilling and happy retirement for the province’s senior citizens by mitigating these age-related hardships.
This year, the province plans to implement a comprehensive strategy that includes expanding employment opportunities for the elderly, increasing the availability of nursing and medical welfare facilities, establishing a support system for caregiving services, and promoting the active use of community centers for the aged.
The urgency of addressing the needs of the elderly population is underscored by the province’s recent designation as a “super-aged society” by the United Nations. This classification is applied to regions where individuals aged 65 and above account for 20% or more of the total population.
According to data presented at a forum hosted by the South Gyeongsang Province Research Institute last October, the elderly population in the province had reached 661,279 as of September 30, representing 20.3% of the total population.
The United Nations categorizes societies based on the proportion of the population aged 65 and above, labeling those between 7% and 14% as “aging societies,” between 14% and 20% as “aged societies,” and those exceeding 20% as “super-aged societies.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
