Senior employment programs generate over W7b in social value

Senior employment programs have been shown to contribute meaningfully to solving community challenges — including care, environmental and safety issues — well beyond their basic role as income support.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Wednesday released the results of a social impact assessment of its senior capacity-utilization pilot model projects, conducted to objectively measure the outcomes of senior employment initiatives.

The assessment covered 10 projects carried out under the senior capacity-utilization pilot model program throughout 2025, converting a range of outcomes — employment, social services and environmental impact — into monetary value.

The 10 projects received a combined investment of 5.55 billion won ($3.92 million) and generated 7.12 billion won in social value, equivalent to 128.3% of total program costs. That translates to roughly 128 million won in social value for every 100 million won invested.

The projects were notable for their collaboration with local governments, public institutions and private companies, linking idle community resources with the professional expertise of the new generation of older adults to maximize the impact of public spending and address local needs.

By outcome category, income gains from employing older adults accounted for 4.23 billion won, or 59.4% of total social value — the largest share. Social services such as care and education for seniors and children came to 2.82 billion won (39.7%), while environmental outcomes including greenhouse gas reduction and resource recycling totaled 65.37 million won (0.9%).

Among individual projects, the grandparent-grandchild care program generated the highest social value at 3.42 billion won, followed by the LH Lifestyle Care Service at 2.81 billion won.

Both programs helped fill care gaps in their communities by serving children and older adults in need of support, while also giving participating seniors opportunities to apply their professional skills — demonstrating their potential to strengthen local care systems.

In terms of efficiency, the Senior Taste Keeper project recorded the highest return at 287.5% of its budget, while the Coffee Grounds Upcycling project posted a return of 177%. The results suggest that resource-recycling models drawing on seniors' experience deliver strong social returns.

In the environmental category, projects including the Coffee Grounds Upcycling project and the KOEN Residential Energy Guardian project improved local environments through waste recycling and greenhouse gas reduction.

Building on these results, the ministry plans to develop high-performing projects into standard models, actively support their expansion across regions, and continue scaling up senior capacity-utilization pilot jobs that match community needs with the expertise of the new generation of older adults. It also intends to deepen ESG (environmental, social and governance) cooperation with private companies and public institutions to expand private social investment.

Choi Bong-geun, the ministry's director general for senior policy, said the assessment "objectively confirmed that senior employment programs are generating diverse social value — from filling care gaps in communities to improving the environment — well beyond simple income support." He added that the ministry would "continue to identify and expand senior employment models that communities need through performance-based program management, and raise the social value that citizens can tangibly feel."