Photo: Hanmi Ilbo Composite. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's pilot project for dementia-friendly asset management services, which sparked controversy over exaggerated public relations.

With the Ministry of Health and Welfare launching the "Dementia-Friendly Asset Management Services Pilot Project" on April 22, the figure of "154 trillion won in dementia money" is once again drawing attention. 

The government explained that asset management for elderly individuals with dementia would be "handled together by the state," and the figure of 154 trillion won was prominently featured in media reports. This figure alone could lead readers to believe that a system has been launched where the state directly manages 154 trillion won of assets belonging to elderly dementia patients.

However, upon reviewing the government's announcement and related materials, Hanmi Ilbo found that 154 trillion won is not the amount the state will actually manage in this pilot project. 

This figure is background statistics estimating the total assets held by elderly dementia patients aged 65 and over in Korea as of 2023. The scope of the pilot project's beneficiaries and entrusted assets is much narrower than this estimate.

The problem lies less with the number itself and more with how it was presented. 

When 154 trillion won is placed at the forefront of policy promotion, readers may perceive this initiative as a project managing assets of that magnitude. Even if the number is factually correct, it does not justify the impression it creates.

The conclusion of this matter is as follows. 

It is true that a system to support asset management for dementia patients has been launched. The figure of 154 trillion won is also based on government data. 

However, the impression that "the state will manage 154 trillion won" goes beyond the actual scope of the project. While the number is factual, the promotion has arguably overshadowed the essence of the policy.

Last year, the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population released the results of a comprehensive survey on the assets of elderly dementia patients, conducted in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Service and Seoul National University's Center for Health Finance. 

According to this survey, as of 2023, there were approximately 1.24 million elderly dementia patients aged 65 and over in Korea. Of these, it was estimated that about 61%, or approximately 760,000 people, owned assets. 

Their total assets, including income and property, amounted to approximately 154 trillion won, which is about 6.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

This figure serves as background data to explain the necessity of the policy. It is neither the budget for the current pilot project nor the amount that the National Pension Service will soon be entrusted to manage. Furthermore, a significant portion of the assets held by elderly dementia patients consists of real estate. 

The assets that can be handled in the actual asset management pilot project differ in nature from the total assets held by all elderly dementia patients. By prominently displaying the figure of 154 trillion won without clearly explaining this distinction, the scale of the policy inevitably appears larger than it actually is.

The entry point for this pilot project is indeed limited. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare describes the dementia-friendly asset management service as an asset management support project based on public trusts. Its primary target recipients are individuals receiving basic pension benefits who are at risk of financial abuse due to dementia or mild cognitive impairment. 

The National Pension Service will be responsible for developing financial support plans through consultations and for managing and monitoring expenditures such as living expenses and long-term care costs according to the trust agreement.

In other words, this pilot project is not a "universal asset management system for all dementia patients." 

It is a limited pilot project prioritizing vulnerable populations at risk of financial abuse and in genuine need of asset management support. 

Compared to the total asset size of 154 trillion won, the entry point to the system is very narrow. In policy promotion, the total asset size was placed upfront, while the actual service recipients and conditions were relegated to the background.

The issue of elderly dementia patients has already moved beyond being solely a family matter and has become a subject of social policy. 

Statistics such as approximately 1.24 million elderly dementia patients aged 65 and over, about 760,000 asset holders, and approximately 154 trillion won in assets as of 2023 demonstrate this. 

When the property of the elderly with weakened judgment is neglected or exploited, it can pose problems for the entire financial, welfare, and guardianship systems.

Dementia is not the only issue. 

According to data from the National Mental Health Center's "Report on the State of National Mental Health 2024," the number of patients treated for mental illnesses coded F, excluding dementia, was 2,828,076 in 2024, and the number of patients with severe mental illnesses was 693,266. However, these are statistics based on treatment, not the number of individuals eligible for asset management. 

These figures should be viewed not as comparable to dementia patient asset management, but as a benchmark for how numbers should be presented when the state policies issues related to judgment, mental health, and asset protection.

Ultimately, the problem with this announcement is not whether the government presented incorrect numbers. 

It is a matter of which numbers the government placed at the forefront and which explanations it deferred. The 154 trillion won was background statistics to explain the policy's necessity, but in the announcement and reporting process, it functioned as a number symbolizing the scale of the project. 

What was truly important was who the target audience was, what assets could be entrusted, and to what extent the state would intervene. 

If promotion has taken precedence, overshadowing the core substance, then the policy announcement itself should be subject to scrutiny.

The need for support in managing the assets of dementia patients is not insignificant. Dementia patients with diminished judgment are vulnerable to fraud, asset misappropriation, and financial abuse. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare also explained that gaps in asset management, such as the arbitrary use of assets by nursing home residents and rent delinquency by dementia patients living at home, have emerged as social problems.

However, policy necessity and policy scale are not the same thing. 

The figure of 154 trillion won is useful statistics for explaining the need for asset protection for dementia patients. 

However, if this figure is placed at the forefront of policy promotion, readers may perceive that the state will manage assets worth 154 trillion won through this pilot project. 

If the fact that the actual target audience and scope are limited is pushed to the background, the promotion becomes an exaggeration, even if the number is factually correct.

At this point, the issue of standards for policy promotion arises. 

If a private company advertises the effects of its products or services in a way that exaggerates their benefits, it leads to controversy over false advertising. The Enforcement Decree of the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising defines false or misleading labeling and advertising as "labeling or advertising that is different from the facts or that exaggerates facts excessively." 

It also explains deceptive labeling and advertising to include methods that conceal or reduce facts.

While government policy promotion cannot be viewed under the same legal framework as private advertising, government announcements carry a greater trust effect as they are perceived as public information. 

Consequently, there is a greater responsibility to explain not only the source of the numbers but also their meaning, scope of application, and the actual scale of the project.

So, to what extent is government policy promotion permissible? 

It is possible to present large numbers to emphasize the necessity of a policy. However, if those numbers can be interpreted as the actual scale of the project or the amount of assets to be managed, the government itself must bear a stricter responsibility for explanation. 

This raises the question: while exaggerated advertising is regulated, who verifies exaggeration in policy promotion?

To summarize this matter: 

First, it is true that the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Pension Service have launched a pilot project for dementia-friendly asset management services. 

Second, 154 trillion won is not the estimated amount to be managed in this pilot project, but rather an estimate of the total assets held by elderly dementia patients as of 2023. 

Third, the actual pilot project primarily targets vulnerable groups such as basic pension recipients, and the entrusted assets are also managed on a limited basis. 

Fourth, policy promotion that prominently features 154 trillion won has the potential to make the scale of the project appear larger than it actually is.

The verdict of this fact-check is: "The numbers are factual, but the promotion has overshadowed the essence." 

The 154 trillion won is based on government data, but it is neither money that the state will immediately manage nor the actual amount the National Pension Service is scheduled to manage. 

While the policy rationale was significant, the actual entry point to the system was narrow. The larger the numbers, the more precise the verification should be.