Homeless people lie down amid a cold snap at the square of Seoul Station on Jan. 29, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 8 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of homeless people not using shelters have lived out in the streets or public squares for more than 10 years, a government report showed Thursday.
According to the report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare there were a total of 8,956 homeless people in the country last year, down by 21 percent from five years ago (11,340 people).
Among them, 82.2 percent(7,361 people) had entered local shelters, while 17.8 percent (1,595 people) continued to live out in the streets.
Sorted by gender, 6,439 of them (71.9 percent) were male. The remaining 2,493 people (27.8 percent) were female.
At 48.4 percent (4,331 people), close to half of the homeless population in the country lived in the greater Seoul area, and 74.6 percent of those that were living on the streets lived in the greater Seoul area.
Among the homeless people on the streets, 42.4 percent left their homes after losing their jobs. Others blamed business failure (17.5 percent) and family divorce (8.9 percent).
Two-third of homeless people on the streets had been homeless for more than 10 years (122.8 months).
“Homeless people tend to live in the streets and squares of metropolitan cities, where they have easier access to transportation, convenience facilities and free food,” the report said.
Shelters have also seen a number of long-term residents. In rehabilitation facilities, the average resident has stayed for 276 months. In self-reliance support facilities, homeless residents have stayed for an average of 80 months.
For homeless people, last year was the worst year for them to get a job, largely due to the pandemic. The unemployment rate among homeless people jumped from 61 percent in 2016 to 74.1 percent last year.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
