Joo Hyung-hwan, Vice Chair of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, noted on the 10th that "Our country is expected to become the oldest nation in the world in the future" and stated, "We need to grow the silver economy." Vice Chair Joo made these remarks during a meeting of experts held to promote the silver economy based on age tech organized by the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee.
Our country entered a super-aged society (20% of the population aged 65 or older) in December last year. It is projected that by 2045, the proportion of the elderly population will reach 37.3%. According to Vice Chair Joo, this trend necessitates fostering technologies and industries related to care, robotics, and healthcare for the elderly.
Vice Chair Joo particularly emphasized that "We must utilize aging as an economic growth opportunity, considering the characteristics of active seniors." Active seniors refer to elderly individuals who remain physically healthy and engage vigorously in social activities post-retirement, thanks to their economic resources. They are considered a core demographic of the silver economy due to their tendency to spend on themselves. According to the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, the global silver economy is estimated to grow from $1.9 trillion (2,758 trillion won) in 2022 to $3.2 trillion (4,644 trillion won) by 2025.
The meeting was attended by Kim Suk-kyung, Senior Researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, Kim Woo-sun, Head of Team at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, Cho Mun-kyo, Senior Researcher at Samsung Global Research, Yoo Ji-hwan, Professor at KAIST, Kim Jung-geun, Professor at Gangnam University, representatives from Wirobotis, which showcased walking robots, and Curaco, which developed a robot for automatic handling of the excrement of elderly individuals with mobility difficulties.