[Metro24] How to Address the Increasing Solitary Deaths in Incheon

Recently in Incheon, vulnerable individuals in their 60s living alone were found dead one after another within five days. In the case of Mr. A, an administrative welfare center worker, while investigating single-person households with housing vulnerabilities, could not reach him and visited his home to check his safety. However, a week later, he was found deceased in his home's bathroom, causing great sorrow.

The number of people dying alone is increasing. In Incheon alone, the number of unclaimed deaths over the past three years totaled 804 (according to Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics), increasing by 24.5% from 253 in 2020 to 315 last year. Looking at the trend of solitary deaths over the past five years, Incheon's average annual growth rate is 11.9%, surpassing the national rate of 8.8%.

The Incheon Social Service Agency conducted a survey last year targeting 3,500 single-person households aged 19 and older, yielding even more meaningful results.

Among the 'intensive management group' at the highest risk of solitary death, 42% live on a monthly income of less than 1 million KRW, 45.7% have lived alone for more than 10 years, and 24.3% for between 5 and 10 years. Additionally, the largest portion of respondents (51.5%) answered that they are not healthy. This indicates that the longer the period of social relationship disconnection, combined with income loss and health problems, the higher the risk of solitary death.

A bigger problem is that solitary deaths are increasing alongside the rising trend of single-person households. Incheon has about 500,000 single-person households, accounting for 38.1% of all households, prompting the city to seek various measures to prevent solitary deaths. Representative examples include the 'Care Plug,' which recognizes the absence of electricity use in a single-person household as a risk factor, and the 'AI Care Call,' where AI makes phone calls to check on residents' well-being.

However, experts advise that continuous human contact is more effective than such non-face-to-face monitoring. Having even one close person can significantly reduce the likelihood of solitary death. Close contact with single-person households is necessary from anyone in the local community, such as neighborhood association leaders, volunteers, or neighbors next door.

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