My Health Data(Personal Health Record) is designed to substantively secure individuals’ data sovereignty and right to self-determination over their personal health information, enhance the continuity and efficiency of healthcare delivery, and facilitate personalized healthcare services. Simultaneously, it aims to maximize the social value of health data across both public and private sectors, thereby fostering systemic innovation within the healthcare ecosystem. Grounded in this problem recognition, the present study systematically examined the current status and policy trajectories of My Health Data(Personal Health Record) systems in both domestic and international contexts. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with a diverse range of stakeholders―including experts, industry representatives, and healthcare institution personnel―to capture field-level experiences and perceptions. Furthermore, by comprehensively analyzing perception surveys administered to the general public and pilot project participants, the study identified structural limitations of the existing system and derived key policy implications for improvement. The findings suggest that, for My Health Data(Personal Health Record) to be institutionalized as a national digital health information integration platform that advances citizen-centered medical innovation, comprehensive ecosystem restructuring at both institutional and service levels is required. In particular, a strategic policy shift is necessary to prioritize the maximization of patient control and user convenience, the establishment of a coherent governance framework, the assurance of interoperability across healthcare institutions, the design of sustainable compensation and participation incentive mechanisms, and the strengthening of utilization strategies centered on primary care.

This study investigated public awareness of medication abuse, examined domestic and international systems for preventing and managing medication abuse, and conducted quantitative and qualitative research on diet drugs (oral appetite suppressants) to gain an in-depth understanding of the context of abuse. Using medications arbitrarily beyond their prescribed purpose and dosage carries the risk of abuse and can negatively impact health. It is necessary to expand services such as counseling for medication abuse and addiction and to strengthen intervention by professionals including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses. Furthermore, the acquisition and utilization of balanced information regarding the effects and side effects of medications must be emphasized.

Against the backdrop of accelerating closures of childcare centers and kindergartens driven by South Korea’s declining birth rate, this study reconceptualizes childcare as an essential service for child development and proposes institutional and spatial design principles to ensure practical accessibility for all children, regardless of where they live. The analysis shows that although South Korea has built a largely universal childcare framework through initiatives such as free childcare, it still lacks a legal mechanism that guarantees effective access and utilization as a fundamental right. Demographic decline has followed an overall process of sparsification, marked by both the contraction of residential areas and an equalizing downward shift in density; however, it also exhibits distinct regional transition paths―for example, density dilution in metropolitan areas and clustered concentration in nonmetropolitan regions. Empirically, these dynamics appear as six types of spatial change and increasingly heterogeneous inequality patterns, shaped by regional urban structure and stages of development. To address this crisis, we apply a unique-coverage algorithm to identify and map irreplaceable “essential hubs” where a service void would emerge immediately if a facility were to close. Focus group interviews with facility directors and parents reveal a vicious cycle in which the erosion of childcare infrastructure undermines local living conditions and intensifies migration intentions among young adults; they also underscore deepening childcare inequities in sparse areas, where children face both restricted mobility and limited service alternatives. Ultimately, a transition toward a rights-based system that guarantees childcare access requires an integrated policy package: (1) codifying childcare accessibility as a legal right with clear remedial procedures, (2) introducing flexible public childcare models suited to low-density areas, (3) providing targeted fiscal support for vulnerable zones based on actual travel distance rather than administrative boundaries, (4) strengthening public transportation to secure mobility, and (5) implementing systematic closure management to ensure continuity of care.

This study compares and analyzes how seven major social risks are distributed among income classes in 6 countries, including Korea, and how social security net benefits are distributed in response. Compared to other countries, Korea shows a pattern that social risks are concentrated in low-income groups, but the concentration of social security net benefits is not the highest. In allocating social security finances, a strategic approach is needed that considers the distribution of social risks.

Among the many social issues facing Korea, greater attention is being paid to the intergenerational gap in benefits and burdens. From an intergenerational-equity perspective, the burden on today’s younger generation and on future generations will continue to rise. This study measures the lifetime net burden of different cohorts using generational accounting and analyzes how benefits and burdens are distributed to inform policies that promote intergenerational equity in the social security system.

This study investigates the inflationary effects of the rapid fiscal expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea and evaluates how heterogeneous inflation across households altered the redistributive impact of social protection. Using a Structural Vector Autoregression (SVAR) with major macroeconomic indicators from 2000 to 2023, we find that fiscal shocks exert a statistically significant and positive effect on consumer price inflation, contributing approximately 0.1-0.35 percentage points during the pandemic period. Heterogeneous inflation is computed using household-specific expenditure weights, showing that low-income households generally experienced higher inflation due to essential-goods consumption. However, during the mid-pandemic phase, inflation became temporarily more progressive, as high-income households faced sharper price increases in transportation, accommodation, and service-related categories. Consequently, real-income inequality widened in most quarters, and the redistributive effect of public transfers―measured by the Gini index―declined by up to 0.1 percentage points, although this pattern reversed during periods of progressive inflation. Importantly, the redistributive consequences of inflation crucially depend on which sectors fiscal demand is channeled to and on the design features of social benefits. Universal tax cuts or broadly distributed cash transfers can be fiscally costly while yielding limited redistribution, and at times even regressive outcomes. These findings suggest the need to transition from broad, crisis-driven support toward more targeted stabilizers once uncertainty recedes, highlighting the value of semi-automatic rules for future fiscal responses.

This report systematically organizes the spectrum of existing and new social policy alternatives for the welfare state to address the anticipated social risks stemming from the megatrends of the 21st century―population, technology, and climate change―which are evolving at a remarkably rapid pace and exerting profound influence. It also aims to provide policy implications by outlining the current status and limitations of recent related strategies in the Korean welfare state from a meso-level perspective.

This study was conducted to diagnose the grand challenges in the health and welfare sector arising from demographic changes and socio-economic transitions facing Korean society, and to explore integrated and sustainable policy alternatives based on in-depth analysis. To this end, a comprehensive analytical approach was employed, including a review of relevant literature, empirical data analysis, and expert consultations incorporating perspectives from academia and policy practice. The findings indicate that addressing complex and interrelated policy challenges requires moving beyond fragmented, institution-centered approaches and instead adopting an integrated policy framework organized around functions and roles.

This study identifies the key features of the community health care models practiced by selected Health Welfare Social Cooperatives in Korea. Based on field experiences, domestic and international cases, and a survey on residents' perceptions, it derives that comprehensive primary care and resident participation are the core elements of the community health care model that our society should pursue.

This study redefines care as a 'productive investment' contributing to employment, growth, and distribution, and aims to develop a Korean model to analyze its economic effects. The first-year research established the concept and scope of the care economy and piloted a macro Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). Empirical analysis using OECD SOCX data confirmed that care expenditure generates substantial income and employment effects, demonstrating that care investment brings positive spillover effects beyond welfare. This study provides policy grounds for re-evaluating care as social infrastructure. Future research will expand to include distributional and gender effects through micro SAM analysis and policy simulations.