[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] South Korea has entered a 'super-aging society'. The proportion of the registered population aged 65 or older has exceeded 20%.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on December 24, the number of registered residents aged 65 or older as of the previous day was 10,244,550, accounting for 20.0% of the total registered residents (51,221,286).

The United Nations (UN) classifies a society as an aging society when the population aged 65 or older accounts for 7% or more of the total population, an aged society when it accounts for 14% or more, and a super-aged society when it accounts for 20% or more.

Looking at the proportion of the registered population aged 65 or older by gender, men account for 17.8%, and women account for 22.2%. Looking at the region, the metropolitan area accounts for 17.7% of the total registered population (approximately 26.04 million), while the non-metropolitan area accounts for 22.4% of the total registered population (approximately 25.17 million). The proportion of the population aged 65 or older in the non-metropolitan area was 4.7 percentage points higher than that in the metropolitan area.

By city and province, Jeonnam was the highest at 27.18%. It was followed by Gyeongbuk (26.0%), Gangwon (25.33%), Jeonbuk (25.23%), Busan (23.87%), and Chungnam (22.23%). The lowest was Sejong at 11.57%.

According to Statistics Korea, the elderly population is expected to exceed 30% in 2035 and 40% in 2050, which could lead to rapid aging.

The aging of Korean society is already foreshadowing various problems. In particular, because Korea is experiencing rapid aging and low birth rates at the same time compared to other countries, there are many negative views about the future, such as weakening productivity due to a decrease in labor supply and a decline in economic growth rate.

In addition, as the elderly population rapidly increases and the number of recipients exceeds the number of people paying into the national pension, there is an analysis that the national pension finances will hit rock bottom by 2055. The rapid increase in the elderly population also poses a threat to the stability of health insurance due to increased medical expenses.

Kim Min-jae, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, emphasized the need to speed up related policies, saying, “Since the proportion of the population aged 65 or older has exceeded 20%, it is urgent to establish more fundamental and systematic measures, such as by establishing a dedicated population ministry.”