Turn the senior industry into a national growth engine... Tear down financial and institutional barriers [2026 fn Senior Industry Conference]

[Financial News] Calls are growing to lower financial and institutional barriers to entry in the senior industry and encourage private investment to address the challenges of a super-aged society. In particular, speakers called for easing restrictions on financial support for care facilities and boosting the industry’s competitiveness by combining artificial intelligence (AI) with care technologies. The senior industry, they said, should be fostered as a new national growth engine, not treated merely as a welfare sector.
Financial News held the 2026 fn Senior Industry Conference on the 12th at the International Conference Room of Bankers’ Hall in Jung District, Seoul, under the theme “Aging Japan, Aging Korea: Solutions for a Future That Arrived Early.”
In his congratulatory remarks, Lee Man-hee, chair of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, stressed the need for institutional reforms to invigorate the industry, saying, “Businesses and financial institutions are showing strong interest in the senior industry, but full-scale market participation remains limited.”
He singled out as a major barrier to entry the fact that companies must raise the large sums needed to build care facilities themselves. “Financing is available even when someone buys a car, but financial support for the land and buildings of care facilities, which cost tens of billions of won, is limited,” Lee said. “If companies have to fund projects costing 40 billion to 60 billion won entirely with their own equity, who could enter the market?”
He added, “We need to work with the National Assembly to change these institutional barriers,” and said, “The National Assembly, too, will make every effort to provide institutional and budgetary support.”
He also emphasized the role of the Long-Term Care Insurance system for older adults. “The Long-Term Care Insurance system, introduced in 2008, is one we need to continue developing,” Lee said. “We need to secure more funding through social consensus and create an environment where people working in the senior industry can take pride in their work.”
Kim Jin-oh, vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Population Strategy, called for elevating the senior industry to the status of a national strategic growth industry.
“The senior industry is not simply a matter of welfare; it is an industry on which the future of South Korea depends,” Kim said, stressing that it “must be elevated to a national strategic growth industry.”
He outlined key priorities: strengthening the foundation for stable retirement income for older adults; expanding financial services that leverage their assets and real estate; integrating healthcare and caregiving with information technology (IT); and promoting private-sector innovation investment.
He explained that older adults’ assets should be monetized to boost their purchasing power, while AI care robots and digital healthcare should be introduced in care settings to reduce the burden on care workers. He also identified helping older adults continue living independently in their current homes as a key priority.
“Young people must also enter the field if the senior industry is to grow,” Kim said. “We need to build a mutually beneficial system that creates new technologies and skilled jobs while ensuring older adults can enjoy comfortable daily lives.” He also emphasized fair financial compensation for care work and policy cooperation with the National Assembly.
In his welcoming remarks, Financial News President Song Ui-dal said the next five years would be a crucial period for determining the competitiveness of the domestic senior industry.
“In Japan, people aged 65 and over accounted for more than 20% of the population in 2005, and South Korea reached the same level in December 2024,” Song said. “We need to find solutions to the problems we face by drawing on Japan’s experience and the lessons it learned along the way.”
He added, “The domestic senior industry is also expected to grow to at least 200 trillion won by 2030,” explaining that changes were already underway, with banks expanding retirement-asset management services and insurers entering the premium care business.
“The next five years will be decisive in determining the competitiveness of South Korea’s senior industry,” Song said. “I hope this conference will be a starting point for opening a new path toward the sustainable growth of the domestic senior industry.”
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter