Number of people dying alone on rise

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In 2021, some 3,000 people died alone

By Lee Yeon-woo

In September, a man in his sixties was found dead at his home, an ordinary low-income flat, located in Seoul's southern district of Songpa. He was discovered by the police and firefighters who were trying to figure out why the emergency alarm in the unit had been out of order, two weeks after his death. The man lived there alone without contact from his family, according to his neighbors.

The police concluded the case was one of “godoksa,” a person who dies at home alone but remains undiscovered for days due to being cut off from their family members and relatives.

To figure out the scale of such deaths and offer tailored support, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has investigated the status of those who die alone since April and announced the results on Wednesday. It is the first time that a government body has investigated such deaths.

According to the ministry, the number of people who died alone has been on the rise during the past five years. By 2021, 3,378 people had died alone in Korea.

The number has gradually increased from 2,412 in 2017 to 3,378 in 2021, with a slight decrease in 2019 ― from 3,048 in 2018 to 2,949. The ministry expects such deaths will increase continuously as the number of single-person households is growing as well.

By region, such deaths have occurred most often in Gyeonggi Province (3,185), followed by Seoul (2,748) and Busan (1,408) for the past five years. Sejong City was the lowest, accounting for 54.

The number of men who died alone is over four times more than that of women, and the gap between the two widened in 2021 to 5.3 times. In 2021, 2,187 men died alone while 529 women died in such ways.

By age, more than half of the people who died alone are in their 50s and 60s. People in their 20s and 30s account for seven percent.

However, research has found that most young deaths have been caused by suicide rather than illness. To prevent youths from dying alone, mental health support is required as well as physical support, the report said.

Along with the publication of the findings, the ministry hosted a public hearing in the National Assembly on Wednesday in collaboration with Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the People Power Party and the Ewha Institute for Age Integration Research.

“People dying alone is related to undermining human dignity because the bodies are found to be severely decomposed as they are neglected for a long time,” Kim said at the public hearing.

“It is going to become a (more) serious social issue which needs every social member's alert and will to solve the issue,” Kim added while asking for cooperation.

The Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong stated that this research is the first step for the administration and local government to responsibly take action on the issue of people dying alone, which has emerged as a new blind spot for the Korean welfare system.

“The U.K. and Japan have recently launched organizations responsible for people dying alone and announced government strategies for the issue. Based on research and the public hearing, the ministry will also put our best efforts into preparing a master plan to prevent such deaths with the relevant institutions by the first quarter of 2023,” Cho said.