[Minseon 8th Term Naju-si Customized Welfare] ① Detailed Policies for the Aging Era

Focus on Improving Convenience of Neighborhood Sarangbang Village Hall Use

Establishing Integrated Care System... 'Dementia-Free Naju'

Strengthening Honors for National Veterans... Increasing Veterans' Honor Allowance

Since the launch of the 8th term of the local government, Naju City in Jeollanam-do has been receiving great responses by discovering and promoting customized welfare policies that broadly encompass citizens from all walks of life, including the elderly, disabled, women, children, and youth.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae, who has emphasized field-centered communication administration, has been visiting village senior centers in the evening after work once a month since his inauguration in July last year to have time communicating with residents.

Through these roundtable discussions, he directly listens to long-standing pending projects and suggestions in the villages that residents have not been able to express or that the administration has not reached, and reflects them in city governance. Furthermore, he drafts policies based on the difficulties observed, heard, and felt on-site, steadily building a welfare infrastructure aimed at making Naju the city with the highest quality of life for its residents.

The Honam Reporting Headquarters of Asia Economy reports on Naju City's welfare policies by social class in three parts during the 8th term of the local government. The first installment takes a closer look at the major policies in the field of elderly welfare in Naju City, which is facing a super-aged society.

▲ Senior Citizens’ Community Room Village Senior Centers: ‘Comfortable and Healthy’

Naju City is focusing on improving the convenience of using village halls (senior centers), which serve as daily rest and leisure spaces for local seniors and as community rooms for neighbors.

Mayor Yoon is prioritizing the distribution of standing tables and chairs to all 620 senior centers and village halls to address discomfort experienced by residents due to the traditional floor-sitting culture, which affects their waist and knee joint health and dining.

Since the second half of last year, 900 million KRW of the city’s own budget has been invested to supply 115 locations, and the plan is to complete the early supply of standing tables and chairs to the remaining 505 locations, originally scheduled until 2025, within this year.

Efforts are also being made to ensure that senior centers, which serve as shelters from extreme heat and cold, can fully perform their roles by thoroughly managing their facilities.

In January, Naju City spent 960 million KRW on heating costs for 614 senior centers to help village seniors have a warm winter. An emergency budget of 430 million KRW was also allocated to provide 200,000 KRW each to 2,154 seniors eligible for customized care services.

In April and May, a full survey of all senior centers was conducted, and 33 old and broken air conditioners over 10 years old were replaced with new units. In August, an emergency budget of 184 million KRW was allocated to ease the burden of electricity bills for cooling, providing 300,000 KRW each to 614 senior centers.

Regarding communal meal expenses at senior centers, the previous uniform support of 100,000 KRW per month regardless of membership will be changed to a differentiated support of 100,000 to 200,000 KRW based on the number of members, to be implemented around October during the 8th term.

From July 13 to August 4, ahead of the peak heatwave, Mayor Yoon visited 20 representative senior centers in towns, townships, and neighborhoods to check on the seniors’ well-being, cooling and heating facilities, and the supply status of standing tables and chairs, while listening to the seniors’ difficulties.

There is a saying, “The best welfare for seniors is jobs.” The city provides customized jobs reflecting the diverse activity desires of the elderly. This not only promotes health through appropriate activities but also guarantees a vibrant old age with supplementary income.

In the field of senior jobs, 3,281 participants aged 60 to 65 and above were recruited across four types: public interest, social service, market type, and employment referral type.

▲ ‘Dementia-Free’ Safe Naju in the Era of 100-Year Lifespans

Mayor Yoon has established an integrated dementia care system during the 8th term to address the challenges of dementia prevention and healthy aging in the era of population aging.

Along with a full dementia survey, the city introduced the 100-Year Safe Senior Centers equipped with dementia care functions and is implementing customized policies to alleviate social isolation and economic burdens for dementia patients and their families.

As of the end of August this year, the population aged 60 and above in Naju is 37,883, accounting for 32.3% of the total population.

The number of dementia patients is also increasing, rising from 1,919 in 2019 to 3,667 in 2022, nearly doubling in three years.

Dementia prevention and treatment through early diagnosis are crucial. Since this year, the city has established a three-year plan for a full dementia survey of citizens aged 60 and above and has been conducting early screenings since April.

With a target of 12,000 people this year, as of early September, 7,874 people have undergone early screening. Through this, 526 dementia patients were identified, and 508 individuals with cognitive decline or mild cognitive impairment suspected of dementia were proactively found.

Screened individuals are registered and managed in the Dementia Safety Integrated Management System (ANSYS) and receive customized services such as dementia examination fees, treatment management fees, care supplies for dementia patients, and identification tags for seniors prone to wandering.

Any citizen aged 60 or older can visit the Dementia Safety Center, health branch offices, or clinics directly for free screening. For those with mobility difficulties, specialized health personnel conduct screenings by visiting senior centers or households.

Alongside the full dementia survey, Naju City designates and operates 180 village senior centers as ‘100-Year Safe Senior Centers.’ The focus is on enabling dementia patients to live with their families and neighbors in their native villages rather than being institutionalized, helping them overcome dementia.

Each senior center is staffed weekly by 38 ‘100-Year Care Managers’ who hold qualifications related to elderly care and welfare. Ten care recipients are selected per center, providing cognitive enhancement programs and welfare services such as checking on dementia patients’ well-being for a total of about 1,800 people (1,480 high-risk and 320 dementia patients).

▲ Welfare That Truly Resonates: ‘Lowering House Earthen Floors’ and ‘Expanding Hairdressing Vouchers’

The house earthen floor lowering project is a representative example of demand-driven welfare policies.

The ‘Earthen Floor’ (토방, Tobang), commonly seen in old-style houses, is a step made by piling earth and stones slightly higher than the yard between the house’s wooden floor and the yard. The problem is that seniors suffering from arthritis or with weak legs find it uncomfortable to climb up and down the high earthen floor, and there is a high risk of falling accidents.

Naju City has adopted the earthen floor lowering project, previously handled by some local welfare task forces, as a policy project and is expanding it to all towns, townships, and neighborhoods.

Customized stairs, ramps, and safety handrails are installed according to the housing conditions to make it easier for seniors to climb up and down the earthen floor. From the second half of last year to the first half of this year, 110 households had their earthen floors lowered, contributing to the safe residential life of seniors. An additional 64 households will be supported in the second half of the year.

Among welfare policies that truly resonate, support for shingles vaccination costs cannot be overlooked. Shingles is a disease occurring in old age when immunity declines, accompanied by severe pain and rash, making vaccination essential.

However, many hesitate to get vaccinated due to the expensive cost. Since shingles vaccination is not part of the national essential vaccination program, ordinary citizens who are not basic livelihood security recipients or low-income brackets must bear 100% of the vaccination cost, averaging 130,000 to 150,000 KRW.

Naju City supports the cost so that citizens aged 65 and above (born on or before December 31, 1958) can receive the shingles vaccine at health centers or branch offices for 38,000 KRW.

This reduces the vaccination cost by more than 50%. Basic livelihood security recipients and low-income groups receive the vaccination free of charge. Since the first vaccination on June 26, over 3,800 people have completed the shingles vaccination as of September.

Advance reservations for the vaccine can be made by phone at health centers or branch offices. Once the reservation is complete, the vaccination date and time can be received via text message. When visiting the health center for vaccination, an ID card and resident registration abstract must be brought.

Additionally, the bathing and hairdressing expenses for basic pension recipients aged 70 and above have been increased from 12,000 KRW per person quarterly to 20,000 KRW, receiving great responses.

▲ Strengthening Honors for National Veterans: Increasing Veterans’ Honor Allowance and Expanding Support Scope

Since the 8th term, Naju City has strengthened honors for national veterans who have devoted themselves to the country. The amount of the veterans’ honor allowance has been increased, and the support targets and scope have been expanded to enhance the honor and pride of veterans and their families.

Since July, the veterans’ honor allowance has been raised from 50,000 KRW to 70,000 KRW per month. The support targets have also been expanded from the families of war dead, deceased, wounded, and injured military personnel to include the veterans themselves and their families, such as those awarded for military merit, national merit, and the May 18 Democratic Movement.

As a result, the number of veterans’ honor allowance recipients has dramatically increased from 270 to over 600.

Mayor Yoon holds independent events related to veterans on commemorative days such as March 1st Movement Day, May 18 Democratic Movement, Memorial Day, and Korean War Day to honor the spirits of patriotic martyrs and commemorate patriotism and sacrifice. Special efforts are made to respect and honor veterans, such as seating veterans and their families in the front rows at ceremonies.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae of Naju said, “We have strived to discover welfare policies centered on the voices of residents that directly resonate with their daily lives and needs, rather than simple, one-time financial support driven by administrative convenience.”

He added, “We will do our best to create a happy Naju where everyone enjoys balanced benefits and the highest quality of life by expanding effective existing policies and significantly relaxing or abolishing policy support criteria.”

Naju = Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yuk-bong yjm3070@asiae.co.kr