(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Over 3,300 people died “lonely deaths” in South Korea last year, continuing an increase that has been ongoing over the past five years, data showed Wednesday.
According to the report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 3,378 solitary deaths in 2021, which was 40 percent higher than in 2017.
It accounted for 1 percent of all deaths that year.
The Act on the Prevention and Management of Lonely Death defines solitary death as “the death of a person in a solitary environment involving suicide or illness, whose relationship with family members and relatives has been severed, and whose body is found after a certain period has passed.”
Sorted by age, 58.6 percent of all lonely deaths were concentrated on people in their 50s and 60s. The proportion of those in their 20s and 30s shrank from 8.4 percent in 2017 to 6.5 percent last year.
Among the younger generation, the rate of lonely deaths resulting from suicide stood at 56.6 percent among those in their 20s, and 40.2 percent among those in their 30s, which was significantly higher than other age groups.
Solitary deaths have occurred four times more frequently among men than women since 2017. Last year, in particular, the gap widened by a factor of five.
Among those in their 50s and 60s, 1,760 solitary deaths were men, accounting for 52.1 percent of all solitary deaths.
“Men in their 50s aren’t well suited for taking care of their health and home with exceptionally low satisfaction in life due to job loss or divorce,” the report said.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
