Patients and their guardians are waiting in front of the consultation room at a large hospital in Seoul. /Courtesy of News1

Last year, Korea entered a super-aged society where the population aged 65 and older accounts for over 20% of the total population, and the burden of medical expenses for the elderly is also surging. In 2023, the medical expenses for the elderly in our country surpassed 48 trillion won. In response, the government is promoting a frailty prevention project for healthy aging.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency noted at the 9th Healthy Society Forum held on the 11th under the theme 'The necessity of frailty prevention for healthy aging in a super-aged society and the role of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency' that it plans to promote the frailty prevention project.

The agency plans to develop a frailty prevention project model to help the elderly maintain their health functions before they need care, allowing them to manage their daily lives independently. Next year, it will select three local governments from urban, rural, and fishing areas to implement a pilot project.

The selected local governments for the pilot project will apply the project programs using community centers, elderly welfare facilities, and similar resources within 20 regional units.

After the pilot project, the local governments will be supported to lead the projects starting in 2028.

According to data restructured by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency from the 2023 health insurance statistical yearbook, the increase in elderly medical expenses is steeper than the aging population. From 2019 to 2023, the population aged 65 and older increased from 7,463,000 to 9,216,000, representing a 23.5% rise, while medical expenses for the elderly increased from 35.7925 trillion won to 48.091 trillion won, a 36.6% increase.

Currently, health authorities are implementing health policies for the elderly focused on diseases like dementia and chronic conditions, but local governments lack sufficient budgets and infrastructure for project implementation.

Park Kwang-sook, head of the frailty planning team at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, 'In the future, we will transition elderly health policies to a comprehensive health management system for healthy aging and prepare a national integrated strategy to improve the quality of life for the elderly and reduce societal expenses.'

The agency will also add frailty-related questions to its annual community health survey to establish a monitoring system to identify the frailty status in different regions. An example question could ask if a person struggles to ascend 10 stairs without resting or move 300 meters independently without assistance.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Ji Young-mi stated, 'We need to implement policies to extend the healthy life expectancy of the elderly and enhance their quality of life in response to the super-aged society. We will continue to collaborate with the community to create an environment conducive to healthy aging.'