Five government ministries and agencies will jointly organize a global forum on aging next month, which officials hope will provide a platform for information exchange and discussion on policy options for the baby boomer generation.

The Global Symposium on Smart Aging will open on Sept. 1 at KINTEX, Ilsan, north of Seoul, on the sidelines of SENDEX, an annual international trade fair for the seniors industry.

The forum may influence policies currently in the making for 7.12 million Korean baby boomers who are headed for retirement.

“The symposium will offer a chance for different government bodies to put forward various policy options on a discussion table and learn from foreign experiences,” the organizers of the symposium said.

Agencies involved include the ministries of Labor, Health and Welfare, Knowledge Economy, Culture and Construction, as well as the Financial Services Commission. These five are those in charge of formulating a comprehensive policy package for the baby boomer generation.

The forum will be divided into four sessions, which will each focus on the topics of healthcare, finance, housing and the social and cultural lifestyle of baby boomers. Keynote speeches will be delivered by Alain Franco, vice president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics and Kwak Seung-june, chairman of Korea’s Presidential Council for Future and Vision.

(milaya@heraldcorp.com)