Almost every fifth citizen of South Korea is a senior. 20 % threshold is to be exceeded next year, making the country officially “old society”
There is chronic poverty behind dramatic statistics. Korea has The highest in the OECD indicator of relative poverty among the elderly. In 2023 he reached 38.2 percent, nearly four times exceeding the average for industrialized countries.
The relative nature of pension benefits and the high share of self -employment among the post -war generation make it Many seniors have an income well below the social minimum.
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The problem is difficult to solve
The government is trying to put out the fire on the run. In March this year, the parliament adopted the first reform of the State Pension Fund in 18 years, increasing the premium with 9 percent. up to 13 percent wages and slightly increasing the replacement rate. The changes are to delay the moment of exhaustion from 2055 to around 2071, but economists warn that Without further corrections, the system will not ensure decent maintenance to future generations.
Problems on the labor market additionally push older Koreans towards marginalization. A criticized system, reducing salaries a few years before the statutory age of retirement (60 years), pushes many of them to low -paid and uncertain activities. According to data from human rights organization, almost 70 percent people in sixty work today in poor conditions, what He intensifies financial stress and “sense of uselessness”.
The family structure changes in parallel. Studies on public health prove that life alone significantly increases the risk of depression in older Koreans, and the number of sole proprietorships is growing rapidly. In combination with decreasing support from adult children This translates into chronic loneliness – A factor that researchers recognize as one of the strongest predictors of suicide in this age group.
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The system could not cope
The mental care system does not keep up with an avalanche increase in needs. Experts pay attention to the persistent stigmatization of mental disorders, especially in older cohorts of society, and chronic underfunding of local suicide prevention centers. Lack of access to detailed data also hinders the creation of sewed intervention programs.
In 2019-2023 Almost half of the suicides of seniors were made using methods with extremely high mortalitysuch as hanging or consuming pesticides – especially in rural areas. The combination of many years of somatic diseases, insufficient pain control and lack of psychological support means that the diagnosis of cancer or dementia often becomes a direct stimulus for older people to take their lives.
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The authors of the latest study recommend training so -called Goalkeepers – GP, nurses and social workers who would be able to recognize threat signals early. According to practitioners, without strengthening the financial safety network and investments in local care services, however, these training will remain half -measure.
From a macroeconomic perspective, the suicide of the elderly is not only a humanitarian tragedy, but also a serious burden on the labor market, health care system and consumer potential. If in the coming years the poverty indicator among seniors does not fall, and the retirement age and the structure of remuneration will not be adapted to the realities of a longer professional life, South Korea will be erected before an increasingly difficult equation. Specifically: how to finance economic development when the oldest part of society leaves the market out of choice, but from desperation.
