[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Namgung Hyung, a member of the Incheon City Council, has drawn attention by proposing the operation of a public 노(老)chiwon, the first of its kind nationwide in special and metropolitan cities.
According to the city council on the 20th, during the city administration question session held at the plenary meeting the previous day, Councilor Namgung proposed the pilot operation of an "Incheon-type public 노(老)chiwon" starting with the old downtown areas with a high elderly population to support elderly care and welfare services, which are social issues arising from an aging society.
Last year, the population aged 65 and over in Incheon was 411,483, accounting for 14% of the total population. By district, Ganghwa-gun had the highest at 33%, followed by Ongjin-gun (26.8%) and Dong-gu (23.1%). Notably, Dong-gu has the highest rate among autonomous districts.
Incheon City is implementing various support projects to address elderly care and health promotion issues due to the aging society, including senior centers, senior welfare centers, senior universities, leisure and cultural dissemination projects, and operation of senior day and night care centers.
However, the 209 senior day and night care centers in Incheon, which provide leisure services (hobbies and exercise) and care services (physical and speech therapy), have the limitation that only seniors who have received long-term care grades through the Long-Term Care Insurance for the Elderly can use them.
Also, senior centers, senior welfare centers, and senior universities mainly provide leisure and cultural services to seniors with relatively better physical activity, while seniors who have difficulty moving or have not received long-term care grades find it difficult to use these facilities.
Councilor Namgung stated, "The number of elderly people who cannot use the facilities targeted by the support projects promoted by Incheon City is still increasing," and emphasized, "A customized elderly welfare system must be established to eliminate welfare blind spots."
He added, "By piloting the public 노(老)chiwon project in the old downtown areas with a large elderly population to provide customized education such as learning, exercise, hobbies, vocational training, and psychological counseling care, and operating cognitive function improvement programs for seniors before dementia diagnosis, it will serve as a stepping stone to prepare for an aging society."
In response, Mayor Park Namchun said, "Although it may be difficult in many places, we will select one elderly welfare facility in the old downtown area for pilot operation and decide on expanding the project based on the operational results."
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