Increasing Number of 'Elderly Abuse Victims' Alienated from Family Each Year with Low Arrest Rates

Source=Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The number of elderly people who are neglected and abused by their families is increasing every year. However, the rate of apprehending perpetrators remains low, prompting calls for the establishment of countermeasures. It has been found that 9.5 out of 10 perpetrators are family members such as children and spouses.

According to data on the status of elder abuse cases submitted by the National Police Agency to Kim Do-eup, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party and a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee (Busan Buk-gu and Gangseo-gu Eul), a total of 43,937 elder abuse reports were received from 2017 to 2021. Among these, only 9,562 cases were apprehended, accounting for just 21% of the total.

The problem is that the number of elder abuse cases is increasing every year. Nationwide, the number of elder abuse reports was 6,105 in 2017, 7,662 in 2018, 8,545 in 2019, 9,707 in 2020, and 11,918 in 2021, showing a trend of increasing by about 1,000 cases annually on average.

By region, the frequency of elder abuse case reports was highest in the following order: ▲ Seoul 1,147 cases (188 apprehended) in 2017 → 2,616 cases (676 apprehended) in 2021 ▲ Southern Gyeonggi 1,106 cases (238 apprehended) in 2017 → 2,067 cases (632 apprehended) in 2021 ▲ Incheon 656 cases (80 apprehended) in 2017 → 839 cases (139 apprehended) in 2021 ▲ Busan 479 cases (83 apprehended) in 2017 → 1,118 cases (174 apprehended) in 2021 ▲ Daegu 424 cases (74 apprehended) in 2017 → 683 cases (161 apprehended) in 2021.

Data on elder abuse cases reported from 2017 to 2021 in 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. Source: Provided by the National Police Agency

Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, Sejong had the fewest elder abuse cases. Sejong saw an increase from 53 cases (3 apprehended) in 2019, the year the Sejong Police Station opened, to 54 cases (5 apprehended) in 2021. This is largely attributed to the relatively small population in the region.

Within the Chungcheong region, the numbers were ▲ Daejeon 363 cases (52 apprehended) in 2017 → 520 cases (108 apprehended) in 2021 ▲ Chungnam 159 cases (26 apprehended) in 2017 → 326 cases (66 apprehended) in 2021 ▲ Chungbuk 127 cases (28 apprehended) in 2017 → 259 cases (45 apprehended) in 2021, showing that Chungnam and Chungbuk also experienced about a twofold increase in elder abuse case reports over the past five years, similar to the national trend.

Based on the number of apprehended individuals, perpetrators of elder abuse cases were most frequently children (including grandchildren), accounting for 50% of the total, followed by spouses at 44.7%. This indicates that most elder abuse cases occur within family relationships.

In particular, abuse by children (perpetrators) increased more than twofold from 626 in 2017 to 1,421 in 2021, while abuse by spouses (perpetrators) increased more than threefold from 400 to 1,345 during the same period.

Other perpetrators of elder abuse cases include relatives and facility workers.

By type of abuse (out of a total of 9,562 cases), physical abuse was the most common with 8,060 cases (84.3%), followed by emotional abuse with 798 cases, mixed abuse involving physical, mental, and neglect with 173 cases, economic abuse with 57 cases, and neglect with 53 cases.

Assemblyman Kim pointed out, “The government has invested over 40 billion won in elder abuse prevention projects over the past five years, but elder abuse has clearly increased during the same period. To ensure that large-scale budgets for elder abuse prevention projects do not end as mere events, it is necessary to establish effective countermeasures.”