Busan Turns Aging Crisis into an Opportunity for AI Innovation... Nurturing an AgeTech Hub

[Financial News] Lonely deaths among seniors living alone, a growing dependent population, and a steady decline in the working-age population... These are all problems caused by demographic change. In fact, Busan became a 'super-aged society' in 2021, when the share of people aged 65 and older first exceeded 20% among the country's seven major metropolitan cities and provinces. South Korea also entered a super-aged society in 2024, as the share of citizens aged 65 and older surpassed 20%.

A counterintuitive approach to solving this aging problem is drawing attention in Busan. It is the 'Project to Build an AgeTech Demonstration Base Centered on a Maritime and Cultural City,' supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and Busan Metropolitan City Government, and carried out by Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency.
The project aims to turn the aging crisis into an opportunity for technological innovation and create new industries by demonstrating, applying and spreading AgeTech technologies in Busan's super-aged communities. AgeTech refers to industries that respond to growing demand in areas such as health, housing, care, mobility and leisure. The city and the promotion agency plan to fully leverage Busan's strengths in the sea, leisure and care sectors.
The AgeTech industry is already being recognized as a fast-growing new market. The global AgeTech market expanded from $860 billion in 2019 to $2.5 trillion last year, nearly tripling in just six years.
The problem is that in the domestic market, the senior-friendly industry remains centered on welfare-oriented devices, making it structurally difficult to enter and expand AI-based services. Demand for and supply of AI-powered convergence products such as wearable devices and care robots remain generally low, beyond traditional physical assistive equipment.
Busan, which secured this national project, now has a rare chance to emerge as a center for new AgeTech industries. Starting this year and running through 2030, the project will be carried out over five years with a total budget of 27 billion won.

In the first year, the project will prepare more than 20 new demonstration tasks and connect them with 32 general demonstration sites and three AgeTech Anchor Labs. This will support the advancement of AI services and on-site testing. Based on demonstration references secured in Busan over the course of the year, the project will also expand overseas by operating a 'K-AgeTech joint pavilion' at international exhibitions targeting leading super-aged countries.
The project is also expected to attract promising AgeTech and AX (AI transformation) companies from across the country to Busan. Among the 21 selected companies participating in the demonstration advancement project, seven are AI-based technology firms from outside Busan, including Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon. Of these, three companies — EMMA Healthcare in Gyeonggi, Paint Farm in Daejeon and Manntel in North Gyeongsang Province — are establishing Busan branches.
It is also an opportunity to turn Busan itself into an 'AgeTech testbed.' The agency plans to position Busan as a hub where companies can verify their technologies and secure references for entering domestic and overseas markets by leveraging the city's super-aged population and seniors' daily living environments.
Meanwhile, to showcase the project's first-year interim results, the agency will set up the 'Maritime and Cultural City-Based AgeTech Demonstration Base Joint Pavilion' at 'K-ICT WEEK in BUSAN 2026,' which will be held at BEXCO from Sept. 9 to 11 next month. It also plans to widely present the AI technologies currently being demonstrated by participating companies.
Park Kyung-eun, head of the Strategy Projects Team at the agency, said, "We are creating a demonstration environment for AgeTech that is differentiated from other regions by using Busan's marine, tourism, cultural and living infrastructure. Companies are verifying their technologies based on a variety of real-life settings in Busan, and citizens are able to experience new services in their daily lives." She added, "We will continue to expand citizen-centered demonstration and experience-space cooperation models through public-private partnership, and actively respond to the diverse needs of the senior generation, including health, culture and jobs."[email protected] Byun Ok-hwan Reporter