By Yoon Ja-young
One of the biggest worries for the Korean economy is the aging of the population. The government is making every effort to pull up the birthrate, currently 1.19 children per woman, but it doesn't seem to be working.
Germany, which has already entered a super-aged society with over 20 percent of its population 65 or older, meanwhile, is finding new opportunities in aging.
A research by Hyundai Research Institute noted that Korea should learn lessons from Germany to successfully transform itself into a "silver economy."
A silver economy regards aging as a new opportunity, a new growth engine that creates new markets and more jobs.
"The German government has been strengthening the silver economy in its policy. Research estimated that Germany could raise the GDP growth rate by an additional 0.2 percentage point annually, through this silver economy," Cho Ho-jung, a senior researcher at the institute, said in the report.
Korea is expected to become a super aged society by 2026, but it is only focusing on the negative aspects of aging, such as the increasing social welfare burden and falling productivity.
However, Cho notes that senior citizens tend to consume more actively than the young population ― in Germany, they spend over 80 percent of their net income.
As a consequence, they spent on average 1,925 euros a month, which is similar to the 1,929 euros spent by those in the 18-45 age group.
The elderly households are expected to account for 42 percent of the country's consumption in 2030, up 10 percentage points from 2010.
As senior citizens become a main pillar of the consumption side, there will rise new opportunities for manufacturing industries as well as services.
"The goods that are senior-citizen friendly will expand. It will include not only goods for recuperation but all products ranging from food and beverages to garments and electronics," Cho noted.
For instance, machines that aid senior citizens in their daily life have been launched in Germany targeting these new powerful consumers.
In services, the businesses related with aging, such as health or homecare, are also increasing their stake.
"Germany has been expanding support for R&D (research and development) on aging-related technologies, taking it as a new opportunity in the economy. The government has been allocating between 300 and 400 million euros every year," Cho said.
The aging-related industries are creating jobs. The service sector for senior citizens created 4.6 million jobs in Germany in 2011, which compares with 1.7 million in 1991.
Germany is expected to create 1.5 million more jobs in the sector by 2020.
The researcher advised that Korea should develop a silver economy to effectively cope with aging and get a competitive edge in the overseas silver market.
She said that enabling stable life after retirement will help set up the elderly consumer market.
"You can expand the domestic market by developing services tailored for the elderly, such as healthcare, education, leisure and finance," she said. "The government should also encourage the integration between ICT (information and communications technology) and these services, which can help the senior citizens lead independent lives."
One of the biggest worries for the Korean economy is the aging of the population. The government is making every effort to pull up the birthrate, currently 1.19 children per woman, but it doesn't seem to be working.
Germany, which has already entered a super-aged society with over 20 percent of its population 65 or older, meanwhile, is finding new opportunities in aging.
A research by Hyundai Research Institute noted that Korea should learn lessons from Germany to successfully transform itself into a "silver economy."
A silver economy regards aging as a new opportunity, a new growth engine that creates new markets and more jobs.
"The German government has been strengthening the silver economy in its policy. Research estimated that Germany could raise the GDP growth rate by an additional 0.2 percentage point annually, through this silver economy," Cho Ho-jung, a senior researcher at the institute, said in the report.
Korea is expected to become a super aged society by 2026, but it is only focusing on the negative aspects of aging, such as the increasing social welfare burden and falling productivity.
However, Cho notes that senior citizens tend to consume more actively than the young population ― in Germany, they spend over 80 percent of their net income.
As a consequence, they spent on average 1,925 euros a month, which is similar to the 1,929 euros spent by those in the 18-45 age group.
The elderly households are expected to account for 42 percent of the country's consumption in 2030, up 10 percentage points from 2010.
As senior citizens become a main pillar of the consumption side, there will rise new opportunities for manufacturing industries as well as services.
"The goods that are senior-citizen friendly will expand. It will include not only goods for recuperation but all products ranging from food and beverages to garments and electronics," Cho noted.
For instance, machines that aid senior citizens in their daily life have been launched in Germany targeting these new powerful consumers.
In services, the businesses related with aging, such as health or homecare, are also increasing their stake.
"Germany has been expanding support for R&D (research and development) on aging-related technologies, taking it as a new opportunity in the economy. The government has been allocating between 300 and 400 million euros every year," Cho said.
The aging-related industries are creating jobs. The service sector for senior citizens created 4.6 million jobs in Germany in 2011, which compares with 1.7 million in 1991.
Germany is expected to create 1.5 million more jobs in the sector by 2020.
The researcher advised that Korea should develop a silver economy to effectively cope with aging and get a competitive edge in the overseas silver market.
She said that enabling stable life after retirement will help set up the elderly consumer market.
"You can expand the domestic market by developing services tailored for the elderly, such as healthcare, education, leisure and finance," she said. "The government should also encourage the integration between ICT (information and communications technology) and these services, which can help the senior citizens lead independent lives."
