Korea is the country with the fastest aging population in the OECD. If the current trend continues, there is an analysis that by 2060, when people born in 1995 turn 65, the proportion of the population aged 65 or older in Korea will reach 43.9%. To put it simply, we will become a country where half of the population is elderly. Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. Until then, we must solve the problem of low birth rate and aging population to prevent this future. However, it is an undeniable reality that Korea is already entering a super-aging society. A super-aging society is a society in which the proportion of people aged 65 or older exceeds 20% of the total population. Korea will enter a super-aging society in 2025. There are only less than two years left. As the elderly population increases, the demand for 'care' such as nursing and home care will naturally also increase. So how is Korean society preparing for ‘care’ ahead of entering a super-aging society? Before answering, you must first understand the concept of social services. Social service refers to a system of social support that guarantees a decent life and further improves the quality of life. It covers not only the 'health care' area such as nursing care mentioned above, but also areas such as education, employment, welfare, housing, culture and environment. Recently, as population and family structures change and income levels rise, the demand for social services is becoming more diverse. However, there are bound to be various limitations in meeting such diverse demands. The reality is that the number of welfare recipients is still limited, so there are no conditions in place for the majority of the public to enjoy universal social services. Additionally, since social services are provided mainly by small private institutions, the quality of services is also bound to vary. The Central Social Service Institute was established to solve these problems and The Central Social Service Institute was established to solve these problems and advance social services. With the mission of improving the quality of life of the people through the promotion of social services, it is a central organization that improves the quality of social services, supports the operation of city and provincial social services, and leads social service innovation. In short, it is a service that HEALs the lives of the entire people. So, HEAL means treatment, but it is a very broad service such as Health, then Earth, Climate Energy Age, Services across the entire life, Living, Housing, Culture, and Care Environment. As mentioned earlier, Care in the aging society is also closely related to the Central Social Service Agency. In 2025, our country will already enter the era of super-aging. In 2045, 9.5 million households, which means half of the households in our country will be single-person households. If this care or social service does not flow well in the region, we will end up in an era where many people end their lives in solitude and loneliness. Therefore, I believe that more care workers are needed now. In order to respond to the increasing demand for social services, continuous support and institutional support are essential. There are many systems and projects so far, and we are going in the direction of making sure that all citizens can experience the social services that have been focused only on children, the elderly, the disabled, and the vulnerable, and that they can be tailored to the needs of consumers in an integrated manner. In order to upgrade social services, it is necessary to increase public social welfare spending in addition to integrated management. In line with this, the proportion of public social welfare expenditures compared to Korea's GDP continues to increase. It increased approximately 2.8 times from 4.4% in 2000 to 12.2% in 2019. Of course, there is still a long way to go, but it is expected to reach 27.6% in 2060. Just as important as increasing spending Just as important as increasing spending is making sure and managing your budget efficiently. The Central Social Service Agency is also responsible for evaluating whether social welfare facilities and social service voucher organizations are managing their budgets well and maintaining service quality. There are two types of evaluation. Quality assessment and facility evaluation. Quality evaluation is an evaluation of five types of social service e-voucher projects, including community service investment projects, and does not stop at simple evaluation. Incentives and awards are given to excellent organizations, and for organizations with inadequate evaluation results, we provide consulting and training to help them improve service quality. In addition, the evaluation results are disclosed to social service e-voucher portals and welfare centers so that the public can act as service users. You can also refer to the evaluation results. Facility evaluation involves evaluating 14 types of social welfare facilities such as social welfare centers, vocational rehabilitation facilities for the disabled, and children's living facilities. There are about 4,500 social welfare facilities being evaluated. As with quality assessments, facility evaluations are subject to thorough follow-up management for institutions with inadequate evaluation results. We visit with experts in person to provide customized consulting capacity building training, and some organizations have received upgraded ratings through this. A workshop to protect the disabled located in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province received a grade C in the 2019 evaluation. Afterwards, this workplace received capacity-building consulting and received an A grade in 2022. This workshop has been reborn as a different facility than before by providing various programs, such as forming a band, so that the disabled people working here can enjoy leisure activities. The band performed together in the local community and donated their talents, which led to a sense of accomplishment for the members. It was very helpful to not only manage the results but also the subsequent process. We made a lot of effort to identify and supplement the shortcomings in each area through capacity-building training. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Social Service Agency are also carrying out the 'Social Service Quality Certification System Pilot Project' targeting social service providers with excellent quality evaluation results. The Social Service Quality Certification System is a project that grants certification to organizations that meet an appropriate level among social service providers that voluntarily apply, and is currently in a pilot project period. Our center is certified for our child psychological services. It seems that there has been some awareness in the local community about our center and the perception that we are good at it, and the quality certification system is said to have an impact on internal members as well. Of course, the staff working at the center need to do better in terms of self-esteem and belonging, but the quality of social services cannot be improved only with these evaluation and certification systems. Improving the treatment of social service workers and professional training are equally important. We are working on improving the treatment of workers and strengthening their capabilities at the same time. Total quality management and total human resources management must go at the same time and are bound to be connected. The Central Social Service is striving to improve employee treatment by reflecting the employee welfare areas within the evaluation indicators. And these changes can come together to create a virtuous cycle. According to the current survey on social service supply and demand, 60% want to use it, but only 30% have ever used it. So, the scale needs to be expanded much further, but on the other hand, there are many small suppliers. If we scale up and cooperate together, good quality services can be provided. As Korea is about to enter a super-aging society, better social services must be guaranteed for a secure and warm future. Please also watch the video recommended by the producer who made this video. If you want to enjoy other videos from Sboss News, please be sure to click the subscribe button.