Chronic Disease Healthcare Costs in South Korea Reach 90 Trillion Won Amid Aging Population

South Korea’s healthcare spending on chronic diseases has reached 90 trillion won annually. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s healthcare spending on chronic diseases has reached 90 trillion won annually, with such conditions accounting for 85% of total medical expenses and causing eight out of 10 deaths, according to a report released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on December 26. 

The “2024 Chronic Disease Status and Issues” report reveals that chronic diseases caused 275,183 deaths in 2023, representing 78.1% of total mortality. Among the top 10 causes of death, cancer led with 24.2%, followed by heart disease (9.4%), cerebrovascular disease (6.9%), Alzheimer’s disease (3.2%), diabetes (3.1%), and hypertension (2.3%). 

Healthcare costs for chronic conditions have shown steady growth, rising from 71 trillion won in 2020 to 90 trillion won in 2023, with an average annual increase of 8.4% over the past three years. Circulatory system diseases accounted for the largest share at 14.9% (13.4 trillion won) of chronic disease expenses, followed by musculoskeletal disorders at 12.9% and cancer at 11.2%. 

Primary hypertension topped individual disease costs at 4.4 trillion won, with Type 2 diabetes following at 3.1 trillion won.

Over the past decade, prevalence rates among adults aged 19 and over have remained stable for hypertension (20 to 22%) and diabetes (approximately 10%). However, hypercholesterolemia rates have steadily increased from 11.9% in 2012 to 22% in 2022. 

Adult obesity rates peaked at 38.3% during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 before dropping slightly to 37.2% in 2022. The adult smoking rate dropped to 17.7% in 2022, while high-risk drinking – defined as men drinking more than 7 glasses of beer and women drinking more than 5 glasses beer twice a week – increased to 14.2%. Physical activity levels improved, with 53.1% of adults meeting aerobic exercise guidelines. 

“As we enter a super-aged society, the burden of chronic diseases is expected to increase further,” said KDCA Commissioner Jee Youngmee. “We will continue to develop strategies to reduce the impact of chronic diseases.”

M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)