Mental Health Struggles Worsen for Young Adults (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of young adults who grew up in state care seeking treatment for mental health problems has climbed sharply over the past five years, underscoring persistent challenges facing those transitioning to independent life, new government data shows.
These young people, known in South Korea as “self-reliance preparation youths,” are individuals who aged out of childcare facilities or foster families at 18 without parental support. As of December 2024, 8,501 were eligible to receive government self-sufficiency stipends.
An analysis of their health insurance records by Rep. Kim Sun-min of the Jo-guk Innovation Party found that 898 of them received medical treatment for mental health conditions last year, up 31 percent from 687 in 2020. The number rose nearly 20 percent in 2021, dipped in 2023, and then increased again in 2024.
Among those covered by the national health insurance program, mental health treatment cases more than quadrupled over the five-year period, climbing from 75 to 326. Treatment levels among the more economically vulnerable medical aid recipients remained far higher overall, with between 500 and 600 cases recorded annually, though the figure has eased slightly since 2020.
Mood disorders, including depression and abnormal emotional changes, accounted for the largest share of diagnoses, affecting 583 young adults last year across both insurance categories.
Kim said the findings highlight systemic gaps in care that begin long before adolescents leave state protection.
“Mental health challenges for these youths are the result of accumulated structural problems throughout their upbringing and transition,” she said. “A comprehensive support system is needed from the protection stage through independent adulthood.”
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
