Credit: Public domain.
Unlike most other developed economies, poverty in South Korea is heavily concentrated among the elderly. (See previous coverage, “Elder Poverty and Subsistence Labor.”) As the South Korean economy struggles through the post-pandemic bust, the spectre of poverty is creeping up to seniors with more means.
According to the National Court Administration 법원행정처, 43.4% of all individual bankruptcies from 2024 involved seniors who were 60 years old or older - a steep increase from 31% just four years ago in 2020. Among those with multiple bankruptcies in 2024, 54.3% were seniors - up from 43.1% in 2020.