February 4, 2025
SEOUL – South Korea’s elderly poverty rate worsened for the second consecutive year, intensifying concerns as the country officially became a superaged society at the end of last year — where 20 percent or more of the population is aged 65 and older.
According to data released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Statistics Korea on Monday, the relative elderly poverty rate — referring to the percentage of those aged 65 and older who receive less than 50 percent of the median income — stood at 38.2 percent in 2023.
The elderly poverty rate was significantly higher among women, at 43.2 percent compared to 31.8 percent for men. The figure is also markedly higher than Korea’s overall relative poverty rate of 14.9 percent and the 9.8 percent poverty rate for the working-age population, defined as those aged between 18 and 65.
Korea’s elderly poverty rate had been steadily falling, from 46.3 percent in 2013 to 37.6 percent in 2021, but rose slightly in the two years that followed — the most recent for which data is available.
Korea has continually had the worst elderly poverty among OECD member countries since 2009.
The OECD’s Pension at a Glance 2023 report also showed the country had the highest poverty rate for the elderly — defined as those 66 and older — among all member states. Based on data from 2020, the report showed Korea’s poverty rate stood at 40.4 percent, nearly three times the OECD average of 14.2 percent. No OECD country except Korea had an elderly poverty rate above 40 percent.
The situation worsened with age, as the poverty rate among those aged between 66 and 75 is 31.4 percent, but jumps to 52 percent for those 76 and older, meaning that more than half of seniors in this age group live in poverty.
Income inequality among older people in Korea is also among the highest globally. The Gini coefficient, a measure of income disparity, stood at 0.376 for those aged 66 and older, significantly higher than the national average of 0.331. In comparison, the OECD average Gini coefficient for elderly populations, which stands at 0.306, is lower than the overall population’s 0.315, highlighting the fact that Korea’s elderly population faces disproportionately high economic inequality.
While the government has considered measures such as raising the basic pension and reforming the National Pension System, the effectiveness of these policies has so far been limited. Experts emphasize the need for more proactive policies to support economic independence among the elderly, calling for a much stronger social safety net to address this major crisis.