The purpose of this research is to engage in a diversified analysis of senior sports as a way of mitigating issues relating to old people in an aging or aged society and to seek ways to foster senior sports as a sound governmental policy in a statutory framework.
The methodology for this paper used a "policy delphi technique"which involves internet research and documentation review as well as personal interviews of relevant experts, This paper proposes a sound governmental policy in order to foster the general public’s health by engaging in a multi-level review and a study on the current status as well as on the inter-connectivity of different, yet commonly relevant legislations such as National Sports Promotion Act, Continuing Education Act, Senior Citizen’s Welfare Act, Aging Society Framework Act, National Health Insurance Act.
Based on the foregoing premises, this paper proposes that:
1. Using the National Sports Promotion Act as the basic framework to provide leeway or convenience to senior citizen participating in sports activities, certain actual out-of-pocket expenses should be reimbursed in the name of health promotion allowance and any entity that provides sports facilities to senior citizen should be entitled to tax advantages.
2. Using the Continuing Education Act as the basic framework, the scope of life-time or continuing education under the Act must be expanded and a reasonable and logical policy for senior citizen sports must be devised through experts studies and organic cooperation among various governmental authorities. 3. Using the Senior Citizen’s Welfare Act as the basic framework, senior sports experts must be dispatched to relevant facilities in order to properly implement sports activities that foster senior citizen’s health. Development of senior citizen’s sports leaders can only be possible through formalization of physical and endurance examination designed for senior citizen in a statutory framework.
4. Using the National Health Insurance Act as the basic framework, the senior citizen’s physical and health insurance should be implemented and executed along with diagnosis and examination by medical experts such as nurses or physiotherapist and should be based on the relevant senior’s disease history and his or her current physical status.
In sum, senior citizen’s sports is a way to promote physical and mental health that would enable development of innate potential and self-achievement, and therefore, it must be recognized as a citizen’s right under the protection and guidance of statutory framework.