요약 본문
Joo Hyung-hwan, Vice Chairman of the Low Birth Rate and Aging Society Committee, delivered a keynote speech on ‘Korea-Japan Cooperation and Opportunities for Population Change and Super-Aging Response’ at the ‘2025 Korea-Japan Senior Forum’ on December 11. The forum was organized to discuss the policy tasks and industrial solutions of both countries, focusing on ‘senior economy’ and exploring practical business strategies.
Vice Chairman Joo diagnosed that Korea will enter a super-aged society at the end of 2024, and emphasized the importance of cooperation with Japan, which has already responded preemptively since becoming a super-aged society in 2006. The aging speed in Korea will accelerate with the entry of the baby boom generation into the elderly class, reaching 37.3% of the total population by 2045. From 2030, the first baby boom generation will enter the late elderly class over 75, increasing elderly medical expenses and financial pressure.
Vice Chairman Joo suggested several measures to respond to the problem of super-aging: preparing conditions for the elderly to continue working and ensure retirement income, realizing integrated community-based care, and fostering the silver economy based on Age-Tech. He emphasized the need to actively promote reemployment or extend the retirement age regardless of age and to strengthen retirement income security through subsequent reforms of public pensions.
Additionally, Vice Chairman Joo explained that bio and healthcare technologies, such as anti-aging, advanced regenerative medicine, and pharmaceuticals, can become new growth engines beyond extending healthy life spans. He emphasized the significance of the forum in transforming the elderly society from ‘crisis’ to ‘opportunity’ with a new growth engine of senior economy.