Experts call for drastic measures as Korea braces for ultra-aged society
By Lee Hyo-jin
Korea's consistently low birthrate coupled with a higher life expectancy is rapidly transforming the country's demographic structure. The latest data from Statistics Korea projects the nation to become a super-aged society by 2025, in which over 20 percent of its 52 million population are aged 65 and older.
In line with the increase in the elderly population, the number of economically vulnerable senior citizens is rising at a rapid pace.
According to a 2022 OECD report, the relative poverty rate among people aged over 65 in Korea came to 43.2 percent, the highest among its member countries, and a position the nation has maintained for several years. The relative poverty rate refers to the proportion of the population whose income is below 50 percent of the nation's median income.
Experts, who pointed out Korea's ill-preparedness for the imminent transformation into an ultra-aged society, said the government should urgently revamp the nation's welfare system and take drastic steps to bolster the social safety net.
Hur Jun-soo, a professor of social welfare at Soongsil University, said that the overall quality of Korea's welfare measures for the elderly remains near the bottom among 38 OECD member countries.
"The share of the budget allocated to senior welfare out of the nation's total welfare budget stands at 25 percent. This is a significantly low figure compared to 45 percent in Japan or 39 percent in France. Government spending on senior citizens' welfare should increase in line with the country's economic growth as well as the aging population," he told The Korea Times.
As for the main reason why so many elderly Koreans are struggling with poverty compared with other countries, he pointed to the late introduction of the national pension scheme.
"Korea's public pension system was first launched in 1988, whereas it was introduced a century earlier in countries like Germany. Also, the basic monthly pension paid to retirees is too small compared to other countries and insufficient to cover their basic needs."
Stressing the need for pension reform, the professor also said that lengthening careers is essential to guarantee future retirees an adequate monthly pension and ensure the national pension's sustainability. 
