🚨 Age-Friendly City National Certification

Today Korean Social News for Beginners | 2025.11.29

0️⃣ Reducing Senior Welfare Gaps and Incentive Policies

📌 Government to Directly Certify 'Age-Friendly Cities'... Reducing Regional Gaps Through Welfare Incentives

💬 Starting in 2025, the government will implement the 'Age-Friendly City National Certification' system for the first time. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will evaluate local governments' senior welfare, healthcare, and care policy plans and performance to grant certification directly. Certified cities will be managed for 5 years, and excellent local governments will receive welfare incentives. This measure aims to reduce regional gaps in care and healthcare revealed by increasing lonely deaths and distrust in emergency medical services. The government plans to strengthen central government management through education, consultation, and cooperation systems.

💡 Summary

• The Age-Friendly City National Certification is a system where the government evaluates and manages local governments' senior policies.
• The certification period is 5 years, and excellent local governments receive welfare incentives.
• The main goal is to reduce regional gaps in senior welfare, healthcare, and care.

1️⃣ Definition

Age-Friendly City National Certification means a system where the government evaluates senior welfare, healthcare, and care policy plans and performance submitted by local governments to certify them as age-friendly cities, manages them for 5 years, and provides incentives to excellent local governments. It will be introduced according to the revised Elderly Welfare Act Enforcement Decree starting in 2025.

An age-friendly city means a region where the urban environment and systems are designed to be senior-friendly in housing, care, healthcare, transportation, leisure, and social participation so that seniors can live safely and with dignity without physical or social constraints. This is based on the 'Age-friendly Cities' concept presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007.

💡 Why is this important?

• In an aging society, improving seniors' quality of life is directly connected to the sustainability of the entire society.
• Regional welfare gaps are worsening social problems like lonely deaths of seniors and deaths without family connections.
• Through direct government management, welfare blind spots can be reduced and a certain level of welfare can be guaranteed.
• Providing incentives to excellent local governments can encourage voluntary efforts by local governments.

2️⃣ Background and Main Content of the System

📕 Social Background for Introducing the System

• Regional gaps in senior welfare are serious. Main problems include:

  • Care and healthcare infrastructure is concentrated in the capital region and large cities, but rural and fishing areas lack it severely.
  • The quality and quantity of senior welfare services vary greatly due to differences in budget and personnel among local governments.
  • Seniors in welfare blind spots often cannot receive basic care and healthcare services.
  • Especially elderly living alone and low-income seniors face greater difficulties due to lack of local infrastructure.

• Senior-related social problems are increasing. Main situations include:

  • Lonely deaths of seniors and deaths without family connections are increasing every year.
  • Distrust in emergency medical systems is growing, causing problems like emergency room rejection.
  • Depression and suicide rates among seniors remain higher than other age groups.
  • Family care burden is increasing, leading to intergenerational conflicts.

📕 Key Content of Age-Friendly City National Certification

• Certification procedures and evaluation criteria are clearly defined. Main content includes:

  • Local governments submit age-friendly city creation plans and operational performance to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
  • The Ministry evaluates policy operation foundation, social participation, care expansion, safety assurance, health promotion, and vibrant retirement life.
  • Local governments that pass evaluation are certified as age-friendly cities, with a certification period of 5 years.
  • Regular monitoring checks plan implementation and provides guidance and consultation when necessary.

• Incentives and sanctions are implemented together. Main features include:

  • Excellent local governments receive incentives such as welfare budget support, promotion of best practices, and policy priority.
  • Certification can be cancelled if plans are not properly implemented or if certification was obtained through improper means.
  • When certification is cancelled, reapplication is restricted for a certain period and related support is stopped.
  • Incentives and sanctions encourage voluntary and continuous efforts by local governments.

• Central government management functions are strengthened. Main measures include:

  • The Ministry provides education and consultation on age-friendly city policies.
  • Cooperation systems among local governments are built to share and spread best practices.
  • Regular surveys and research explore policy improvement directions.
  • Laws and systems related to senior welfare are continuously improved and updated.

💡 Main Issues of Age-Friendly City National Certification

1. Fairness of evaluation criteria: Need to establish evaluation criteria considering regional characteristics
2. Incentive scale: Providing sufficient incentives for substantial motivation of local governments
3. Financial support: Central government financial support for infrastructure expansion in underdeveloped regions
4. Sustainability: Structure that can maintain policies even after the 5-year certification period
5. Resident participation: Ensuring participation of senior citizens and local residents in policy establishment and evaluation

3️⃣ Expected Effects and Future Tasks

✅ Expected Effects of the System

• Regional welfare gaps can be reduced. Main effects include:

  • By presenting certain standards, the government can guarantee a minimum welfare level.
  • Even underdeveloped regions will make efforts to expand infrastructure for age-friendly city certification.
  • Seniors in welfare blind spots can receive basic care and healthcare services.
  • Through competition and cooperation among local governments, the overall level of senior welfare will be raised.

• Senior-related social problems can decrease. Main effects include:

  • Systematic care services can prevent lonely deaths of seniors and deaths without family connections.
  • Improved emergency medical systems enable prompt treatment of senior patients.
  • Expanded social participation programs can reduce senior depression and suicide rates.
  • Expansion of public care services reduces family care burden.

✅ Tasks for Successful Settlement

• Evaluation criteria reflecting regional characteristics are needed. Main directions include:

  • Uniform standards are inappropriate as infrastructure conditions differ between large cities and rural areas.
  • Differential evaluation criteria should be prepared considering population size, financial independence, and aging rate.
  • Evaluation should emphasize improvement efforts and policy direction rather than absolute numbers.
  • Satisfaction of local residents and senior citizens should be included as important evaluation indicators.

• Sufficient financial support and incentives must be backed. Main tasks include:

  • Active central government financial support is needed as local governments with poor finances cannot expand infrastructure through will alone.
  • Incentives must be substantial for local governments to be motivated. Specific benefits like budget support, personnel expansion, and project priority are needed.
  • Budgets for continuous operation as well as initial infrastructure construction should be considered together.
  • Ways to distribute financial burden through cooperation with the private sector should be explored.

• Policy sustainability must be secured. Main measures include:

  • A structure that can maintain policies even after the 5-year certification period ends must be created.
  • Policies should be institutionalized to continue regardless of changes in local government heads or political situations.
  • Resident leadership should be enhanced by having local residents and senior citizens participate in policy establishment and evaluation.
  • Policies should be continuously improved through regular monitoring and feedback.

4️⃣ Related Terms

🔎 Age-Friendly City

• An age-friendly city means an urban environment where seniors can live safely and with dignity.
  • An age-friendly city refers to a region where the physical environment and social systems of the city are designed to be senior-friendly so that seniors can live safely and actively without physical and social constraints. It's not simply about building many senior welfare facilities, but a comprehensive approach considering seniors' convenience and dignity in all aspects of daily life including housing, transportation, healthcare, care, leisure, and social participation.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) first presented the age-friendly city concept in 2007. WHO presented 8 core areas: first, outdoor spaces and buildings; second, transportation; third, housing; fourth, social participation; fifth, respect and social inclusion; sixth, civic participation and employment; seventh, communication and information; eighth, community support and health services. According to these standards, more than 1,400 cities and regions worldwide participate in the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.
  • In Korea, some local governments have voluntarily pursued age-friendly city creation projects since 2013, but effectiveness was low due to lack of legal basis and national-level management system. The national certification system starting in 2025 is an institutional foundation to overcome these limitations and systematically spread age-friendly cities.

🔎 Elderly Welfare Act Enforcement Decree Amendment

• The Elderly Welfare Act Enforcement Decree amendment provided legal basis for the Age-Friendly City National Certification.
  • The Elderly Welfare Act is a law that stipulates the responsibilities of the state and local governments for disease treatment and health promotion of seniors, and life stability. While the Elderly Welfare Act previously had no specific provisions on age-friendly cities, the law and enforcement decree were amended due to entry into an aging society and increased demand for senior welfare.
  • Main content of the 2025 enforcement decree amendment includes: first, clarifying the definition and certification criteria of age-friendly cities; second, stipulating local governments' obligation to establish creation plans and evaluation procedures; third, setting the certification period at 5 years and introducing a regular monitoring system; fourth, establishing grounds for certification cancellation in case of improper certification or plan non-implementation; fifth, creating grounds for providing incentives to excellent local governments.
  • Through this amendment, age-friendly city creation, which previously relied only on voluntary efforts of local governments, has been elevated to a national-level policy task. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to set detailed evaluation indicators and incentive content by notice and fully implement from the first half of 2025.

🔎 Welfare Blind Spot

• A welfare blind spot means a situation where people should receive welfare benefits but cannot.
  • A welfare blind spot refers to situations where people who are experiencing economic and social difficulties and should rightfully receive public welfare services cannot receive benefits due to insufficient systems, lack of information, or administrative barriers. In senior welfare, elderly living alone, low-income seniors, and seniors living in rural areas are mainly in blind spots.
  • Main causes of senior welfare blind spots include: first, lack of information about welfare services. Many seniors don't know about benefits they can receive. Second, complex application procedures. Seniors who have difficulty preparing documents and visiting in person give up. Third, strict eligibility requirements. Those who slightly exceed income standards are excluded from all benefits. Fourth, lack of regional infrastructure. Rural areas lack welfare facilities and personnel themselves.
  • To eliminate welfare blind spots, visiting welfare services, simplified application procedures, expansion of regional welfare infrastructure, and strengthened cooperation with the private sector are needed. The Age-Friendly City National Certification makes finding and eliminating welfare blind spots an important evaluation criterion, so it is expected to contribute to reducing blind spots.

🔎 WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities

• The WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities is a platform for global cooperation on age-friendly policies.
  • The WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities is an international cooperation system established by the World Health Organization in 2010, a platform where cities and regions from around the world that want to create age-friendly cities participate to share information and experiences. As of 2025, more than 1,400 cities and regions worldwide are members.
  • To participate in the network, local governments must submit an application to WHO and establish and implement an age-friendly city creation plan. After joining, they must submit implementation reports every 5 years and show continuous improvement efforts. WHO provides member cities with guidelines, best practices, and evaluation tools, and supports exchanges through regular conferences and workshops.
  • In Korea, some cities like Seoul, Busan, Suwon, and Jeongeup have joined and are active in the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. These cities are promoting senior-friendly policies according to international standards, and this national certification system references WHO standards but supplements them to fit Korean circumstances. In the future, there are plans to link the national certification system with the WHO network to spread age-friendly cities of international standards.

5️⃣ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What benefits do residents get when certified as an age-friendly city?

A: Senior welfare, healthcare, and care services improve, and the living environment of the entire region becomes senior-friendly.

• When certified as an age-friendly city, local governments must expand senior welfare infrastructure and improve services, so residents receive better welfare benefits. First, care services expand. Home visits for elderly living alone, day care centers, and nursing facilities increase, reducing care burden on seniors and families. Second, healthcare services improve. Senior specialty hospitals, home medical care, and health screening programs expand so seniors can easily receive healthcare services. Third, social participation opportunities increase. Senior jobs, lifelong education, and leisure programs diversify so seniors can enjoy vibrant retirement.
• The physical environment also improves. Fourth, transportation convenience improves. Expansion of low-floor buses, senior call taxis, and public transportation discounts make travel convenient. Fifth, residential environment becomes safer. Support for senior-customized home modifications and public rental housing supply enable safe and comfortable living. Sixth, public places become more accessible. Barrier-free environments with ramps, elevators, and wheelchair passages are created. These changes help not only seniors but all residents including people with disabilities, pregnant women, and families with children.

Q: What should be done for our region to be certified as an age-friendly city?

A: Local governments must establish creation plans and pass Ministry evaluation, and residents can also actively participate.

• While age-friendly city certification is a process led by local governments, residents can also play important roles. First, local governments must establish age-friendly city creation plans. They should survey the current state of senior welfare, identify areas needing improvement, and set specific policy goals and implementation plans. Second, they submit plans to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for evaluation. The Ministry evaluates policy operation foundation, social participation, care expansion, safety assurance, health promotion, and vibrant retirement life to decide on certification. Third, after certification, they must faithfully implement plans and receive regular monitoring.
• There's much residents can do too. Fourth, residents can present opinions to local governments about the actual state of regional senior welfare and necessary improvements. Fifth, they can participate in participatory budgeting, public hearings, and meetings to express opinions on senior-friendly policies. Sixth, they can participate in senior volunteer work and intergenerational programs to create an age-friendly culture. Seventh, they can inform about the necessity of age-friendly cities and form public opinion through local media or SNS. When local governments and residents work together, real age-friendly cities are created.

Q: Do other countries have similar systems?

A: Many countries worldwide are pursuing similar policies centered on the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.

• Age-friendly cities are a global trend. More than 1,400 cities are members of and active in the WHO Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, and governments of each country are also supporting this. First, Japan, as one of the countries with the highest aging rate, has built a 'Community-based Integrated Care System' providing integrated healthcare, care, housing, and life support so seniors can continue living in their communities. This is evaluated as a representative model of age-friendly cities. Second, the UK supports communities to take the lead in creating senior-friendly environments through the 'Age Friendly Community' program.
• Third, the US operates the 'AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities' program through AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), helping state and local governments pursue age-friendly policies. Fourth, Canada provides financial and technical support to local governments through the federal government's 'Age-Friendly Communities' program. Fifth, the European Union coordinates and supports age-friendly policies of member countries through 'European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing'. Korea's national certification system aligns with this international trend and is an independent model that references WHO standards but supplements them to fit Korean circumstances.

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