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Busan Turns Aging Society into a New Growth Engine… Establishes “Age-Tech Strategy for Super-Aged Busan”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that on the morning of the 21st, at 10:00 a.m. in City Hall Small Conference Room 1, Mayor Park presided over the 52nd Emergency Economic Countermeasures Meeting to discuss the “Age-Tech Strategy for Super-Aged Busan.”

Attendees included Kim Hyeong-cheol, Busan Metropolitan Council member; Lee Gwan-ik, Director of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute; Kim Suk-kyung, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade; Kim Jong-uk, President of the Gimhae Bio Health Industry Promotion Institute; as well as experts, business leaders, and institutional representatives.

This meeting was convened to discuss policies aimed at cultivating age-tech as a future growth industry, building upon the 2nd Comprehensive Plan for the Promotion of the Senior-Friendly Industry in Busan, which was formulated through analysis of the elderly population and input from seniors, businesses, and experts.

The senior-friendly industry in Busan is being developed with the following strategic directions:

• ●Concentration: Establishing an age-tech ecosystem through the concentration of functions, equipment, and talent.

• ●Connectivity: Strengthening linkages between corporate support programs and expanding the scope of operations.

• ●Universalization: Providing services tailored to the needs of a wide range of seniors, from active seniors to the super-aged.

• ●Diversification: Expanding into fields such as welfare equipment, medical devices, healthcare products, food tech, and housing improvement projects.

• ●Leadership: Fostering leading companies in the domestic and global markets through pioneering initiatives in emerging age-tech sectors.

The 2nd Comprehensive Plan for the Promotion of the Senior-Friendly Industry in Busan (2025–2029), under the vision of “Turning the Aging Society into a New Growth Engine: Age-Tech City Busan,” aims to:

• ●Support the growth of age-tech companies,

• ●Create youth employment opportunities through age-tech enterprises, and

• ●Improve the quality of life for seniors through age-tech products and services.

The city will invest approximately KRW 128.3 billion over the next five years to advance four major strategies, 12 priority areas, and 34 detailed tasks: infrastructure expansion, strengthening support systems, expanding citizen-oriented services, and discovering linked projects.

❶ Infrastructure Expansion: Building an Age-Tech Innovation Ecosystem in the Southeastern Region

• ●Production Facilities: Establishing a clinical demonstration support platform for advanced regenerative medicine, creating the region’s only specialized facility in advanced regenerative medical technology.

• ●Corporate Support Centers: Through the “Medical Industry Technology Support Center,” designated by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute as a regional innovation center for the senior-friendly industry, the city will expand support for existing senior-friendly businesses and assist their transition into age-tech. In addition, the Healthcare Big Data Center (to be completed in December 2025) will foster data-driven intelligent healthcare industries. A one-stop clinical demonstration support center for in-vitro diagnostic medical devices will also be established to promote specialized regional medical device industries.

• ●Specialized Districts: The Eco Delta City (EDC) cluster will be developed to promote corporate concentration and the convergence of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies with the medical industry. Furthermore, five major anchor labs for age-tech product and service demonstrations and commercialization will be established across Busan.

❷ Strengthening Support Systems: Enhancing End-to-End Support for Startups and Age-Tech Transitions

• ●Startup Development: To prepare for the government’s silver economy promotion strategy, expanded long-term care insurance benefits, and new reimbursable items, Busan will promote startup growth and support the transition of companies into age-tech. The K-Biohealth Regional Center Support Project, a cooperative model between Busan and Gyeongnam, will support companies established within the last seven years.

• ●End-to-End Support: By supplementing existing support programs, the city will build an integrated support chain covering the entire lifecycle of age-tech, from senior-friendly products to intelligent healthcare solutions. Related R&D projects will be pursued to establish infrastructure for the anti-aging industry, such as the regenerative medicine clinical demonstration platform.

• ●Research: Collaborative R&D projects will be conducted with universities and hospitals to address challenges of an aging society.

• ●Human Resources Development: Under the RISE project, Busan will introduce its first regulatory science training program (at Catholic University of Busan) to address the growing need for regulatory affairs (RA) expertise in the biohealth sector. Contract-based programs at Pusan National University will foster food tech specialists to address demographic changes and support sustainable growth in the food industry. The city will also provide short-term customized training for employees of senior-friendly industry companies to strengthen international standards compliance and capabilities.

❸ Expanding Citizen-Oriented Services: Building a Digital Welfare Environment for Seniors

• ●Health Services: The city will expand senior-friendly product promotion and experience centers (“Shade of Trees”) from seven to nine locations, while providing welfare equipment rental and case management services for low-income seniors in welfare blind spots.

• ●Platform Services: Busan will establish three digital welfare centers by integrating digital services into existing welfare facilities, and distribute ten pilot “Smart Welfare Centers” offering comprehensive health management services covering physical, cognitive, mental health, and social relations. Digital meditation rooms will be installed to strengthen mental health support. Around 50 “Smart Senior Centers” will also be developed to close service gaps. Additionally, Busan will introduce the nation’s first AI-based smart nursing home model to implement public-oriented digital care services.

❹ Discovering Linked Projects: Creating a Healthy and Safe Senior-Friendly Living Environment

• ●Food Tech: In addition to welfare equipment, medical devices, and healthcare products, Busan will activate food tech industries linked to the senior-friendly sector. A related research study will be conducted in the second half of this year, followed by the development and proposal of community-tailored senior-friendly food tech projects in 2026.

• ●Housing Improvement: Although 85% of seniors express demand for “aging in place” (AIP), 72.5% of elderly falls occur at home (Korea Consumer Agency, 2020 Elderly Survey), highlighting the need for housing improvements as part of an integrated care system. Busan will promote projects to revitalize industries related to AIP, support home repair applying universal design, and develop initiatives that enable seniors to live safely in their own homes.
  (*AIP: Aging in Place, meaning to grow old in one’s own home.)

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “We will build a Busan-style age-tech virtuous-cycle economic system where the elderly receive thorough care and social respect, while senior-focused industries grow. The ‘Busan Age-Tech Strategy’ announced today will serve as a growth engine for a brighter tomorrow, turning crisis into opportunity and providing even more comprehensive support for the local community.”