According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the relative income poverty rate of elderly in South Korea surpasses 40%, making it the top first among the 38 OECD countries. 

As specified by the OECD, relative income poverty rate within the elderly is defined as the average income of individuals over the age of 65 who earn income that falls under half of the median household income of the total population. 

South Korea is not only a global leader in substantial development in technologies but is also a country with a high level of human development. 

However, Korea’s relative income senior poverty rate is 5.6 percent higher than the OECD average of 11.1 percent. 

In fact, South Korea’s suicide rate of 62.6 deaths per 100,000 population among the senior citizens- individials over the age of 80- is 2.3 times higher than that of any other age groups. 

Why is a country with such a sophisticated economy with great  technological advancements so poor in handling elderly poverty? 

One of the main reasons why Korea faces severe elderly poverty is due to the fact that many seniors are still employed. 

Although the legal retirement age in Korea is 60, one out of three seniors over the age of 64 are said to still have jobs. 

This is because they experience a drastic decline in income once they retire, and hence are unable to pay their living expenses. 

In a poll carried out by Statistics Korea, 68.5 percent of the population aged from 55 to 79 claimed that they wanted to continue working, and 57.1 percent of these people stated that the primary reason for this is to earn enough for their living expenses. 

This survey results show the old-age population is to work only because they have to due to their poor financial circumstances. 

Thus, this causes this sector of the Korean population to look for a second career. 

However,  most of these jobs that they land are of poor quality, low skilled jobs that are usually part of the service sector. 

These jobs not only provide low wages, but can result in hardships due to the depletion of mental and physical well-being. 

Furthermore, the public pensions that these senior citizens receive are inadequate to lessen the burdens of such severe poverty. 

The three main public pension systems of Korea, National Basic Livelihood Security, National Pension Scheme and Basic old age pension scheme, only provide a modest level of income to these citizens. 

For instance, the Basic old age pension scheme covers 70 percent of the old-age population in Korea. 

Despite its beneficial impacts on improving affordability of basic humanitarian needs including food, and heating, it fails to positively affect the overall state of one’s financial well-being.  

It is crucial for the South Korean society to deal with such a severe issue among the senior population that is so well-hidden behind the facade of a highly developed image of the economy. 

So, what are the possible solutions? The Korean society should hold more vocational, job training programs as well as improving the working conditions in service-level jobs in order to give light to the elderly population who really need the help.

Ella Hong
Grade 11 
Dulwich College Seoul