Gwangju City Confirms Implementation Plan for Age-Friendly City Creation This Year

Investing Over 640 Billion Won to Expand Jobs, Care Services, Culture & Leisure, and Improve Living Environment

Kim Jong-hyo, Deputy Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is presiding over the meeting of the 'Gwangju Metropolitan City Age-Friendly City Creation Committee' held on the afternoon of the 25th in the small conference room on the 3rd floor of the city hall. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City has finalized this year's implementation plan for creating an age-friendly city to realize a "Happy Gwangju, a 100-year city without worries about aging."

On the 25th, Gwangju held a meeting of the Age-Friendly City Creation Committee, consisting of 14 members including Deputy Mayor Kim Jong-hyo, city council members, experts from institutions and academia, and heads of related departments, at the city hall small conference room to discuss and review the implementation plan for creating an age-friendly city.

This year's implementation plan is an annual plan established after joining the World Health Organization (WHO) Age-Friendly Cities Network in March last year. It focuses on creating a socially and physically livable urban environment for all citizens, including the elderly, to achieve the goals of the first phase (2020?2022) basic plan.

The finalized implementation plan includes 49 detailed tasks across five areas: jobs, social participation and culture, care and human rights, health and medical care, and living environment, with a budget of approximately 640 billion KRW to be invested.

Key projects include ▲expanding support for senior jobs ▲operating the Bittgoeul 50+ Center platform for middle-aged support ▲building a dementia-prevention specialized senior complex facility ▲providing customized care services for the elderly and expanding basic pensions ▲expanding dementia-specialized nursing facilities ▲designating more senior protection zones considerate of transportation-vulnerable groups ▲improving housing environments for elderly living alone, among various initiatives supporting a happy old age for seniors.

Additionally, as a member city of the WHO Age-Friendly Cities Network, Gwangju plans to form and operate an "Age-Friendly Policy Monitoring Group" to enhance age-friendliness and policy execution. This group will check and evaluate the progress of the implementation plan, discover and suggest policy tasks, and activate communication with policy stakeholders.

The international network of age-friendly cities is a project promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to jointly address global aging and urbanization issues. As of this year, 1,114 cities from 44 countries worldwide have joined. In South Korea, 26 cities including Seoul, Busan, Ulsan, Jeju, Suwon, and Jeongeup are members of the network.

Deputy Mayor Kim Jong-hyo said, "With advances in medical technology, life expectancy has surpassed 100 years, and aging is an inevitable and natural process of urban development. Gwangju City will strive to establish an age-friendly environment well through cooperation with the committee, related organizations, and groups."