[2022 National Audit] Jeon Hye-sook: "Yoon Government Cuts Budget for Dementia and Elderly Welfare"

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] It has been revealed that the government has cut the budget necessary for dementia care, including the operation of dementia safety centers next year.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Jeon Hye-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the government has set next year's project budget for 256 dementia safety centers nationwide at 25.122 billion KRW, a 43.8% decrease from this year's budget of 44.671 billion KRW. Dementia safety centers provide dementia prevention services such as early screening, specialized education, and family support to residents aged 60 and over. Dementia safety centers were one of the key tasks announced when the Moon Jae-in administration declared the 'National Responsibility for Dementia' policy in September 2017.

The budget for the expansion project of elderly care facilities, which includes the construction of dementia-specialized elderly nursing facilities, was also set at 40.091 billion KRW, a 34.5% decrease from 61.232 billion KRW next year. The Ministry of Health and Welfare explained that the reduction in next year's dementia care budget was due to the historically low budget execution rate.

Regarding this, Assemblywoman Jeon Hye-sook stated, “It is problematic to cut the budget for related projects simply because the budget execution rate was low without considering the COVID-19 situation,” and added, “Since this is a project promised as a national agenda by the President and the government, a concrete plan and sufficient support for improving elderly care facilities and the dementia care system are necessary.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.