"Only 20% Agree 'Children Should Support Parents'... Experts Cite 'Low Birthrate and Aging Population Shadow'"

On the afternoon of the 4th, when in-person visits were once again allowed at infection-vulnerable facilities such as nursing hospitals, a resident and their family are having a visit at the Seoul Mapo-gu Municipal Western Senior Nursing Center. 2022.10.04 Photo by Joint Press Corps

Fifteen years ago, more than half of people believed that children should support their elderly parents, but now that figure has dropped to 20%. Experts attribute this to “the combined effects of low birth rates, aging population, and an unstable labor market,” noting that “the structure is changing in a way that inevitably increases the responsibility of public support.”

The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs recently released the “2022 Korea Welfare Panel Survey and Analysis Report,” revealing the results of the 17th Korea Welfare Panel Survey conducted from March to July last year with a total of 7,865 households. This survey has been published annually since 2006, with additional questions about ‘parental support’ added every three years.

According to the survey results, 21.39% of respondents agreed with the statement “The responsibility of supporting parents lies with the children” (strongly agree 3.12%, agree 18.27%). This means only one in five citizens believe that children are responsible for supporting their parents. Those who disagreed with the statement accounted for 49.14% (strongly disagree 7.28%, disagree 41.86%), nearly half of the population. Meanwhile, 29.47% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Low-income households showed a slightly lower approval rate and a higher disapproval rate compared to general households. Approval responses were 20.6% for low-income households and 21.5% for general households, while disapproval responses were 50.7% and 48.9%, respectively.

When the perception survey on parental support was first conducted in 2007, approval responses exceeded half (strongly agree 12.7%, agree 39.9%), while disapproval was 24.3% (strongly disagree 1.7%, disagree 22.6%), less than half of the approval rate. By the third survey in 2013, disapproval (36.03%) surpassed approval (35.45%), and the gap has continued to widen.

"A Phenomenon Due to Low Birth Rates and Aging"

Regarding the rapid change in perceptions about parental support, Professor Heo Junsu of the Department of Social Welfare at Soongsil University analyzed, “In the past, parents did not live as long and there were many children to support them, but the trend is increasingly moving in the opposite direction.” In the past, two to three children supported their parents, but due to low birth rates, this number has decreased to one, and the burden of support has increased due to aging. South Korea’s total fertility rate (the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime) dropped from 1.259 in 2005 to 0.78 last year, reaching one of the lowest levels in the world. Meanwhile, life expectancy increased from an average of 78.2 years in 2005 to 83.6 years in 2021. Additionally, intensified educational enthusiasm has raised the costs of child care, leaving little capacity to support parents.

Professor Choi Hyeji of the Department of Social Welfare at Seoul Women’s University stated, “Economic support is necessary to care for parents,” but added, “Nowadays, due to the unstable structure of the labor market, many people in their 20s and 30s are unable to enter the market.” Professor Choi further explained, “The decline in approval for parental support is not sudden but gradual, leading to the conclusion that South Korea needs to develop into a welfare state.”

In this trend, the ‘Long-term Care Insurance for the Elderly’ system was established to share the responsibility of supporting elderly parents at the national level. Since 2008, South Korea has provided public benefits to help elderly people with chronic illnesses related to aging live independently. Professor Heo said, “Long-term care insurance is limited to elderly people with medical issues, but the number of single-person elderly households will increase significantly,” emphasizing, “It is important to create a system that can actively support these individuals in accordance with changes in perceptions about parental support and demographic structure.”

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