Busan is good

Busan Achieves Record Results in Senior Employment Program Evaluation, with Highest-Ever Number of Organizations Recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it achieved its best-ever results in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 2026 Comprehensive Evaluation of the Senior Employment and Social Activity Support Program, with program operators in Busan recognized as outstanding organizations in both the quantitative and qualitative evaluations.

The evaluation comprehensively assessed the 2025 operational performance and overall management systems of 1,194 senior employment program operators nationwide and selected 222 organizations as outstanding performers.

Twenty program operators in Busan were selected, accounting for approximately 10 percent of all outstanding organizations nationwide and representing the highest number ever recorded by the city. In particular, 14 organizations were selected as outstanding performers in the Senior Capacity Utilization Program category, the largest number nationwide. This achievement is especially significant because it recognizes not only the quantitative growth of Busan’s senior employment programs but also their high quality.

A total of 19 organizations were selected as outstanding performers in the quantitative evaluation, while one organization was selected in the qualitative evaluation.

The 19 organizations recognized in the quantitative evaluation were the Senior Clubs of Jung-gu, Seo-gu, Dong-gu, Yeongdo-gu, Busanjin-gu, Dongnae-gu, Nam-gu, Buk-gu, Haeundae-gu, Saha-gu, Geumjeong-gu, Yeonje-gu, Suyeong-gu, Sasang-gu and Gijang-gun; Saha Sarangchae Senior Welfare Center; Namgwang Comprehensive Social Welfare Center; Sasang-gu Senior Welfare Center; and the Busan Yeonje-gu Branch of the Korean Senior Citizens Association.

Nam-gu Senior Club was selected as the outstanding organization in the qualitative evaluation.

The Crisis Household Identification Team operated by Nam-gu Senior Club, which was selected as an outstanding program in the qualitative evaluation, is a Busan-specific senior employment initiative independently designed by Busan Metropolitan City in 2023. It is regarded as a leading employment model that applies seniors’ experience and capabilities to solving community problems.

Participating seniors travel throughout local communities to identify households showing early signs of a welfare crisis and connect them with Administrative Welfare Centers, serving as a community-based human safety network.

In 2025, 169 seniors participated in the program across seven districts and 65 Administrative Welfare Centers. They identified 2,256 households in crisis, conducted 19,813 in-person consultations and 169,809 telephone consultations, and facilitated 12,577 connections to goods and welfare services, achieving tangible results in reducing gaps in the social safety net.

The program has gained nationwide recognition as an exemplary Busan-specific senior employment initiative by establishing a high-value social service employment model in which seniors, formerly recipients of welfare services, become providers of community welfare and strengthen local care systems.

The 20 program operators selected as outstanding organizations will receive a total of KRW 128 million in national government incentives.

In the multiple-program category of the quantitative evaluation, Nam-gu Senior Club secured KRW 20 million, Saha Sarangchae Senior Welfare Center secured KRW 13 million and Namgwang Comprehensive Social Welfare Center secured KRW 10 million.

In the single-program category of the quantitative evaluation, 16 program operators were selected as outstanding organizations and each secured KRW 5 million in incentives.

The 16 organizations were the Senior Clubs of Jung-gu, Seo-gu, Dong-gu, Yeongdo-gu, Busanjin-gu, Dongnae-gu, Buk-gu, Haeundae-gu, Saha-gu, Geumjeong-gu, Yeonje-gu, Suyeong-gu, Sasang-gu and Gijang-gun; Sasang-gu Senior Welfare Center; and the Busan Yeonje-gu Branch of the Korean Senior Citizens Association.

Nam-gu Senior Club was also additionally selected as an outstanding organization in the qualitative evaluation, securing a total of KRW 25 million in incentives.

The achievement reflects the sustained efforts of seniors, program operators and local governments to improve the quality of senior employment programs.

Busan Metropolitan City has reviewed overall program operations and worked to strengthen the capabilities of program operators through annual evaluations of districts and counties and comprehensive evaluations of Senior Clubs conducted every three years.

The city has also continued to develop Busan-specific senior employment programs that address community challenges, including ESG Travel Docents, the Safe Collection Team for Unused Medicines, the Crisis Household Identification Team and the Senior Support Team for Elementary School Care Classrooms. Through these initiatives, the city is expanding new senior employment models that go beyond income support to provide social services needed by local communities.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “We will further strengthen the capabilities of program operators and continue expanding high-quality senior employment opportunities that draw on seniors’ extensive experience and abilities. By providing seniors with meaningful opportunities for social participation and citizens with better welfare services, we will build Busan into the nation’s leading age-friendly city.”