Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Isolation, poverty push older adults to forefront of Korea’s crime statistics
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By Lee Hae-rin
Korea is seeing a rise in crime among older adults, with those aged 60 and older now making up the largest share of criminal suspects — a trend driven by the country’s rapidly aging population.
Data from the National Police Agency’s 2024 crime statistics show that individuals aged 60 and older accounted for 18.8 percent of all criminal suspects last year, edging past the 18.3 percent attributed to people in their 20s. A decade ago, older adults made up just 8.8 percent of suspects — less than half their current share.
In contrast, the proportion of suspects in their 20s, 40s and 50s declined over the same period.
Experts attribute the rise in elderly crime to Korea’s rapid demographic shift.
The population of older people has expanded rapidly, leading to more social interaction — and sometimes friction — between older Koreans and the broader public. Korea entered “super-aged” status in 2024, with more than 20 percent of citizens over 65.
Crimes committed by older adults are often tied to basic economic needs.
The latest figures show people aged 60 and up accounted for a staggering 33.9 percent of all theft suspects and over 23 percent of murder suspects in 2024. Most older offenders in these cases were unemployed and had no prior criminal record, suggesting poverty and economic distress as underlying causes.
Experts warn that rising elderly crime reflects not only demographic change but also a safety net growing dangerously thin.
“Relevant policies and welfare initiatives have failed to keep pace with the senior population’s growth,” said Kwak Dae-kyung, a professor of Dongguk University’s police administration, emphasizing the urgent need for social support systems tailored to older adults’ unique challenges.
Amid warnings from experts like Kwak, President Lee Jae Myung marked National Senior Citizens’ Day by acknowledging the nation’s debt to older adults and pledging expanded support.
“As our society grows older, it is the state’s responsibility to protect our senior citizens so they can live with dignity,” he said in remarks posted on social media.
As of 2023, Korea’s relative poverty rate among people aged 65 and older reached 39.8 percent — the highest among the 38 OECD member nations and nearly triple the OECD average of 14 percent.
About 20 percent of older Koreans live alone, with the figure projected to double by 2050. The country’s senior suicide rate stands at 40.6 per 100,000 — more than double the OECD average of 16.5.