[Editorial] Make the Senior Industry a New Growth Engine in a Super-Aged Society

South Korea’s demographic makeup is undergoing a major change. In general, a society is classified as super-aged when people aged 65 and over make up more than 20% of the total population. In December 2024, the share of South Korea’s population aged 65 and over reached 20%, officially making it a super-aged society. As the country has entered this stage at breakneck speed, the social crisis is deepening. But it is important to turn crisis into opportunity by changing how society views seniors and reforming social institutions.
The senior industry is a prime example. Because South Korea has become a super-aged society so quickly, its policies, institutions and industrial ecosystem remain stuck in the past. Only the label has changed; the language of policymaking has not moved far beyond an earlier era. As a result, aging is viewed only through the lens of welfare and care. Money spent on elderly welfare is often regarded as a cost that weighs on public finances. Once we accept the reality of a super-aged society, we must move beyond this welfare-based perspective. Aging can also serve as a catalyst for changing the structure of industries and the economy as a whole, from consumption and labor to assets and finance, and healthcare and technology.
There is an immediate need to support technology development and policies to foster the domestic age-friendly industry. The senior industry market is projected to grow to at least 200 trillion won by 2030. As the market expands and demand increases, investment will naturally follow. But we need to examine whether current domestic financial regulations are hindering investment in the senior industry, which is emerging as a new market. For example, the long-term care business requires enormous investment, and it is worth considering whether financial regulations are running counter to these investment flows.
The development of age-friendly technology must also be accelerated. Advanced economies abroad are already working to develop products and services tailored to aging societies using cutting-edge technologies. AI care robots and digital healthcare have drawn considerable interest in the social welfare sector because they can ease the burden on care services struggling with labor shortages. Technologies that combine healthcare and care with information technology (IT) can also make a major contribution to improving older people’s quality of life. Such age-friendly technologies, products and services could become new export products. The government should therefore move quickly to establish policies and institutions to foster these industries. The senior industry will also help create jobs. In particular, it offers employment opportunities for young people who are struggling with a shortage of jobs.
Above all, growing the senior industry requires changing how society views older people. As long as they are seen only as welfare recipients or consumers, the senior industry can never grow. We must remember that older people are producers with experience and skills, as well as consumers who can expand markets using the assets they hold. The industry needs to be developed to ensure an adequate supply of products and services that enable older people to enjoy comfortable and safe later years. Productive support must also be provided for active seniors who enjoy their later years independently and find fulfillment.