[Exclusive] 1,200 Elderly Self-Harm Cases Annually... Seniors Shaken by Poverty, Loneliness, and Anxiety

Largest at 30% of all self-harm cases
1.47 million insomnia patients aged 60+
Elderly suicide rate also highest in OECD
Experts: "Actual numbers higher than statistics... Social interaction needed"

"I am afraid of going back to the stairs at Seoul Station." The one-room apartment located deep in an alley in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, is the home of Kang Soo-il (60). His one-room apartment can only fit two people lying down, but it has a clean room and a bathroom. The deposit is 95.5 million won. Compared to when he was homeless at Seoul Station, his living environment has definitely improved. Although he escaped 15 years of homelessness, he has a history of self-harm and attempted extreme measures in this room. For the past six years, Kang has been consistently taking medication for depression and insomnia. He said, "I suffer from anxiety that I might return to my old life," and "I absolutely cannot fall asleep without taking these medications."

According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the population aged 60 and over who received treatment for self-harm last year increased by 30.8% from the previous year to 1,197 people. This accounted for 30% of the total self-harm population (3,995 people), the largest proportion by age group. The number of people aged 60 and over who received treatment for insomnia also reached 1,475,159 last year, an increase of about 120,000 compared to 2020. This is more than half of the total insomnia treatment population (2,834,785 people). According to the 2021 Mental Health Survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the one-year prevalence rate of major depressive disorder among those aged 70 to 79 was 3.1%, the highest among all age groups. The one-year prevalence rate refers to the number of people who experienced depressive disorder in the past year. This figure is more than double the 1.5% level recorded in 2016.

Old age negatively affects mental health due to retirement, illness, divorce or bereavement, loneliness, income reduction, and fear of death. Especially, those without cohabiting family and with low income and education levels feel more anxiety and depression due to socioeconomic isolation. South Korea’s elderly suicide rate is already the highest among OECD countries, and the elderly relative poverty rate (38.9%) is three times the OECD average (13.5%). The elderly relative poverty rate refers to the proportion of elderly people whose income level is below 50% of the median income. The elderly relative poverty rate, which had consistently remained in the 40% range, dropped to the 30% range for the first time in 2020.

Professor Ham Kyung-ae of the Graduate School of Counseling and Therapy at Silla University said, "Elderly self-harm is likely to be chronic, but elderly people feel ashamed and embarrassed to even go to the hospital for this issue," adding, "Elderly people who have fallen into economic poverty find it even harder to go to the hospital. The reality is likely much worse than the statistics." Professor Ham said, "Ultimately, elderly people need spaces where they can interact with others," and "If they participate directly in volunteer work or in services such as caring for children or pets, they may feel that they are contributing to society, which can reduce feelings of depression."

Professor Jung Soon-dul of the Department of Social Welfare at Ewha Womans University said, "Elderly poverty also leads to the weakening of social networks. Without money, people do not meet others and spend more time at home, making it naturally harder to identify impoverished populations," and added, "To return to the pre-COVID-19 situation, active measures are needed to solve the loneliness of the elderly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.