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Busan Metropolitan City Tackles Jobs and Health Together: “FRAILTY! Busan Will Take Care of It—Health UP” Holds Haha Health Partner Launch Ceremony

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□ Busan Metropolitan City announced that today (the 24th), at 2:00 p.m., it will hold a launch ceremony and job training for “Haha Health Partners,” the core workforce of the “FRAILTY! Busan Will Take Care of It—Health UP (hereinafter, Health UP)” initiative, at the Grand Auditorium of City Hall.
○ Busan’s senior population (aged 65 and over) currently accounts for about 25.3%, meaning one out of every four residents is an older adult and the city has entered a super-aged society. In particular, as the share of one-person senior households increases, not only physical frailty but also issues such as depression and social isolation are emerging as key challenges.

□ The Health UP project is an initiative first piloted in March 2023 in three districts—the first of its kind nationwide—to establish a prevention-centered health management system that identifies and manages frailty early, before it progresses to disease. It has since been expanded step by step and is now being operated across all districts and counties.
○ Busan Metropolitan City is promoting a frailty-prevention Health UP project that integrates ▲[social connection] Relationship UP ▲[emotional support] Mind UP ▲[strengthening physical function] Health UP, and is operating a prevention-centered, resident-participation-based health management system.

□ In addition, Busan Metropolitan City’s Health UP project is regarded as a representative case of a local government taking the lead in promoting frailty prevention.
○ The city has proactively established, at the local-government level, a systematic operating model that includes ▲building a frailty assessment system ▲training health leaders ▲providing customized services according to frailty-group classification ▲operating health promotion programs focused on the pre-frailty group.
○ In particular, in connection with the Act on Integrated Support for Community Care Including Medical and Long-term Care, scheduled to take effect this March, the Busan-style frailty-prevention model has been shared as an excellent case during the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s process of setting policy directions and developing curricula, as the government advances the establishment of a community-centered prevention and management system as a national policy agenda.
○ This operating approach is being utilized as a reference model in the central government’s policy-formulation process, adding significance as a case of a local-government-led frailty-prevention policy.

□ To strengthen field-level execution, Busan Metropolitan City introduced the nation’s first frailty-prevention specialized senior job program, “Haha Health Partner,” last year (2025).
○ Haha Health Partners carry out ▲support for frailty screening assessments ▲service linkage based on frailty-group classification ▲support for operating health promotion programs focused on the pre-frailty group ▲revitalization of health communities, and provide on-the-ground operational support for the Health UP project.
○ This is being operated as a virtuous-cycle model that “advances both jobs and health at the same time,” offering older adults stable opportunities for social participation while expanding human resources for frailty prevention in the community.
○ In addition, through collaboration with the city’s Senior Welfare Division, the project has established a stable operating foundation by organically linking senior job policies with the frailty-prevention initiative.

□ Busan Metropolitan City will continue to promote the frailty-prevention Health UP project to strengthen its capacity to respond to a super-aged society.

□ Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “Frailty is not an unavoidable part of aging; it is an area that can be sufficiently delayed and prevented if the community manages it together,” adding, “Through the Health UP project and Haha Health Partners, we will further strengthen a prevention-centered health management system.”

□ He added, “As the Busan-style frailty-prevention model is being utilized in the national policy-formulation process as well, we will continue our efforts to build a city where older adults can live with peace of mind.”