Incheon Solitary Deaths Increasing Annually... Councilor Kim Jong-bae Proposes 'TV Check-in Notification Service'

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] As Incheon shows a rate of increase in solitary deaths exceeding the national average, a proposal has been made to introduce a 'TV Check-in Notification Service' as part of countermeasures.

Kim Jong-bae, Incheon City Council member (People Power Party, Michuhol-gu 4), pointed out during a 5-minute speech at the 1st plenary session of the 284th extraordinary meeting on the 17th, "There are 125,729 elderly living alone in Incheon, of whom 12.4% receive elderly care services, and 7.1% (8,522 people) receive safety phone services, but the remaining 75.2% of elderly living alone are left in blind spots."

He continued, "47.1% of elderly living alone turn on the TV first thing after waking up, and if they do not turn on the TV, it is a sign that something may be wrong with their safety," and argued, "A system for checking on elderly living alone through local cable broadcasters should be established at the city level."

Previously, Shinan County in Jeollanam-do and Yeongwol County in Gangwon-do introduced senior check-in call centers in 2014, Jungnang-gu in Seoul in 2015, and Busan City in 2018, and have been operating them.

Kim Jong-bae, Incheon City Council Member [Photo by Incheon City Council]

According to Councilor Kim, looking at the trend of solitary deaths over the past five years announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Incheon's annual average increase rate is 11.9%, exceeding the national average of 8.8%, and the proportion of solitary deaths is also higher at 1.5% compared to the national average of 1.1%.

Also, the number of unclaimed deaths in Incheon over the past three years totaled 804 (158 women, 646 men), increasing by 24.5% from 253 in 2020 to 315 last year.

By district, Michuhol-gu had the highest number of unclaimed deaths at 69, followed by Namdong-gu and Bupyeong-gu. By age group, those in their 20s accounted for 1.74%, 30s for 5.54%, while those in their 50s accounted for 30.8%, and those 60 and older accounted for 25.2%, with the 50s and 60s making up 56% of the total.

The number of solitary deaths per 100,000 people is 8.5 in Incheon, compared to the national average of 6.6.

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