3 in 4 people at risk of lonely death are disabled, data shows

Three out of every four people identified by the government as at risk of dying alone and unnoticed are disabled, according to new data. Unemployed individuals and people 65 or older each account for roughly 70 percent of the same group. This points to an overlap of vulnerabilities -- disability, old age and joblessness -- among those most at risk of a lonely death.

Rep. Seo Mi-hwa is a Democratic Party of Korea supreme council member on the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee. She received the data from South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday. It showed 43,858 people registered in the government's lonely death risk response system had detailed information on file.

Of those, 33,491 -- or 76.4 percent -- were people with disabilities, meaning more than three in four individuals flagged as at risk of dying alone are disabled.

By disability type, people with physical disabilities numbered 31,279, or 93.4 percent of all disabled individuals in the group. They were followed by those with visual impairments at 735 (2.2 percent), mental disabilities at 525 (1.6 percent) and intellectual disabilities at 309 (0.9 percent).

In terms of economic activity, 30,507 people, or 69.6 percent, were unemployed -- meaning roughly seven in 10 people at risk of a lonely death have no job.

Temporary or day laborers accounted for 2,492 people (5.7 percent), regular workers for 2,109 (4.8 percent) and self-employed individuals for 618 (1.4 percent). Another 8,132 people (18.5 percent) fell into other categories.

By age, people 65 or older made up the largest share at 31,402, or 71.6 percent of the total. Broken down by gender and age, women 65 or older were the largest single group at 16,292 (37.1 percent), followed by men 65 or older at 15,110 (34.5 percent).

Among middle-aged people between 40 and 64, men numbered 8,906 (20.3 percent) and women 2,518 (5.7 percent). Among youth, men numbered 576 (1.3 percent) and women 441 (1.0 percent).

The figures mark the first detailed breakdown of at-risk individuals' disability status, employment, gender and age since the government launched the lonely death risk response system in February. However, because the system is still in its early stages, the figures could shift depending on the accuracy and scope of data entered by local governments.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it plans to use accumulated data going forward to analyze the characteristics and risk factors of people vulnerable to lonely deaths, and to upgrade the system so it can predict risk and enable preemptive support.

"This is significant in that it is the first time we have identified the socioeconomic characteristics of people at risk of dying alone," Seo said. "We need to closely analyze the characteristics and circumstances of vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, the unemployed and the elderly, so we can more actively identify those at risk and connect them with support systems."