Nearly 2.46 million elderly Koreans live alone, making up 1 in 4 senior households

The number of single-person households aged 65 and older approached 2.46 million last year, making up one in four elderly households nationwide. Emergency responses for these seniors have nearly quintupled over the past four years.

According to the Ministry of Statistics, the number of single-person households aged 65 and older rose 47.9 percent, from about 1.66 million in 2020 to about 2.46 million last year.

The share of single-person households among all households headed by someone 65 or older climbed 3 percentage points over the same period, from 21.1 percent to 24.1 percent.

Emergency responses for elderly people living alone totaled 385,066 last year, up 12.7 percent from 341,608 the year before.

The figure has surged in recent years — from 78,745 in 2021 to 131,787 in 2022, then to 182,071 in 2023 and 341,608 in 2024.

Last year's total was 4.9 times the 2021 figure.

Breaking down last year's emergency responses by type, undetected activity accounted for the vast majority at 351,872 cases, followed by emergency calls at 25,083 and fire incidents at 8,111.

The government has operated an emergency safety support service for elderly people living alone since 2013. The program installs fire detectors, motion sensors and emergency call devices in the homes of vulnerable seniors, alerting emergency responders and local center staff when a crisis occurs so they can provide rapid assistance. About 280,000 households used the service last year.