Gwangju City Council Member Park Mijeong Shares "Gwangju-style Integrated Care" in Japan

Case Presentation at Japan Society of Care Management Conference
"Proposing a New Paradigm for Care Systems and Welfare Models"

Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council, was officially invited to the "34th Japan Care Management Society Academic Conference" held for four days from the 26th to the 29th at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, where she presented the "Gwangju-style Integrated Care" policy. Provided by Gwangju City Council

Park Mijeong, a member of the Gwangju City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Dong-gu 2), who is recognized as the architect of the "Gwangju-style Integrated Care" policy, was officially invited to the "34th Japan Care Management Society Academic Conference" held for four days from the 26th to the 29th at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, where she shared the "Gwangju-style Integrated Care" policy.

At this academic conference, Park drew the attention of the Japanese academic community and international care policy stakeholders by presenting the paradigm shift in welfare policy and the significance of normalizing care in daily life through the case of "Gwangju-style Integrated Care."

Park stated, "The key success factor of Gwangju-style Integrated Care was 'collaboration and cooperation,' in other words, governance." She emphasized that close cooperation and checks between the council and the administration, as well as harmonious connections between the field and the administration, were important elements. She further highlighted that the enactment of ordinances and budget allocations served as crucial driving forces for successful implementation.

She also introduced the fact that she contributed to the enactment of the "Community Integrated Care Support Act," which will serve as the foundation for the era of nationwide care to be implemented starting next year, generating significant response.

Japan has shifted responsibility for elderly care to the state with the introduction of long-term care insurance, but is now facing the issue of expanding commercial services due to privatization. In response, the Japanese academic community highly evaluated, both academically and in terms of policy, the sophisticated realization of public-led integrated care in Korea as presented by Park.

On June 30, Park stated, "Now in its third year of implementation, Gwangju Integrated Care is expanding to include medical care services." She added, "Going forward, I will actively support the global expansion of Gwangju-style care as both the foundation for a state-responsible care system and as a welfare model for Korea."