Home Security Cameras Sales Rising With Growing ‘Lonely Death’ Among Elderly

SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – Sales of home security cameras in South Korea are growing rapidly, with many people purchasing them out of concern for their elderly parents.

Demand for household CCTV cameras is continuing to grow, according to a number of home security camera operators in the country.

Data provided by one of the major South Korean telecom providers shows that the number of home security camera service users nearly doubled between 2016 and 2017, one of the biggest user base jumps in since the service was launched in 2013.

In North Chungcheong Province alone, home to many single elderly households, nearly 4,500 home security sensor cameras were adopted between 2012 and 2016.

Mobile providers currently provide home security camera streaming services that allow users to check on their family members and companion animals on their smartphone, while receiving information via text if unusual movements are detected.

Industry sources say, however, that the rise in the number of home CCTV cameras in recent months is directly linked to a bigger social issue.

“While many use home security camera services for an extra sense of security and their pets, a lot of people are using the service to keep an eye on their elderly parents,” an official at a security camera service provider said.

Another official in the industry says the growing number of single households in the country is behind the popularity of online home security camera services.

“As a series of cases of lonely deaths among elderly people have been reported, coupled with the growing number of single households, more people are interested in getting a CCTV camera. Against this backdrop, the industry of mobile network provider-led IoT-based services will continue to grow,” the official said.

According to recent data put forward by the Busan Social Welfare Development Institute, over six in 10 elderly people in the region had not even a single regular meeting planned in 2016, meaning more elderly people have no one to meet even during the most celebrated national holidays like Chuseok.

In addition, South Korea continues to grapple with the issue of poor elderly households, as the country has the highest rate of elderly poverty among OECD members at a staggering 48.6 percent.

Given this reality, some elderly Koreans are making the unfortunate decision to end their life in order to stop being a burden on other family members, with data showing that among those who died without family or friends last year, those in their 60s and 70s accounted for nearly half of the total.

While many households resort to setting up cloud-based security cameras to watch their elderly parents as a makeshift solution, some municipal governments are taking matters into their own hands, including the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which introduced smart sensors at low-income single elderly households earlier this year to curb so-called lonely death among elderly people.

The smart sensors, courtesy of major South Korean telecom giant KT, were introduced at 80 flophouses, and can detect an individual’s movement through high frequency waves, information which is then sent to KT’s control center.

If officials have any cause for concern, a social worker is dispatched to check on the individual in question.

Lonely deaths among elderly people have been on the rise in South Korea in recent years, with four cases reported within the space of a week in Busan during the month of June, sending a shockwave around the country.

Hyunsu Yim (hyunsu@koreabizwire.com)