ED Fight against poverty

More efforts needed to eliminate welfare blind spots

South Korea ranked fourth in relative poverty among the 37 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2018-19, according to data from the Paris-based club of rich nations. Korea's relative poverty rate, which refers to the percentage of people living on less than half of the median income, came in at 16.7 percent, meaning that one out of six Koreans lives in relative poverty.

Only three countries had a higher relative poverty rate than Korea: Costa Rica topped the list with 20.5 percent, followed by the United States with 17.8 percent and Israel with 16.9 percent. Behind South Korea came Japan at No. 5 with 15.7 percent, Italy at No. 6 with 14.2 percent and the United Kingdom at No. 7 with 12.4 percent. Iceland had the lowest relative poverty rate of 4.9 percent. It's shameful that Korea's rate is 5.6 percentage points higher than the OECD average of 11.1 percent.

Experts say the country's high relative poverty rate has much to do with its rapidly-aging population. The poverty rate among South Koreans aged 65 and older reached 43.4 percent in 2018, the highest among OECD members and nearly three times the OECD average of 15.7 percent. This is the result of many elderly people having retired in droves without preparing for their old age in the absence of an adequate welfare system.

It's no secret that relative poverty is closely related to the gap between the rich and poor and an unequal distribution of wealth. What is most worrisome is that the COVID-19 pandemic is deepening these inequities, making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

That's why our society should tackle the poverty problem more aggressively, focusing on eliminating welfare blind spots. What is needed first is to let the elderly work longer so they can have more time to prepare for retirement. Also, it's necessary to guarantee a level playing field for the underprivileged through bold investments in education.