[100-Year Brain Health②] Dementia-Induced Domestic Crimes... Emerging New Social Conflicts

Missing Dementia Patients Cases Reach 12,000 Annually... Nearly Double Compared to 10 Years Ago
Beyond Property Disputes, Neglect and Abuse... 11,918 Elder Abuse Reports Last Year
Surge in Adult Guardianship Applications... Loophole Allows Withdrawal Without Court Approval
Government Must Establish Management System and Infrastructure to Ease Caregiver Burden

Kang (52) has been caring for his mother, who was diagnosed with dementia last year. His mother’s long-term care grade for dementia was level 5, indicating that her condition was not severe. Nevertheless, the siblings became divided. The root of the conflict was Kang using their mother’s money for additional medical expenses. The siblings sent their mother an allowance of 200,000 won each month but scolded Kang for using their mother’s money separately. Eventually, after shouting matches with his siblings, Kang declared that he would no longer care for their mother. In response, the siblings criticized him, saying that giving an allowance was essentially like hiring a caregiver and that he was shirking responsibility. Kang said, “As soon as my mother was diagnosed with dementia, my siblings split over money issues. I cannot easily abandon my mother, but the conflict with my siblings is an enormous burden.”

A man in his 40s, Mr. A, drove his car off a cliff while driving along the coastal road in Aewol-eup, Jeju City, around 4 a.m. on March 19. His 80-year-old mother, who suffered from dementia, was in the car with him. Attempting an extreme act with his mother, he escaped alone from the crashed vehicle and called 119 immediately after the accident. He was recently arrested on charges of killing a family member and was sentenced to six years in prison in the first trial. It is known that since the second half of last year, he had been living with his mother, whose dementia symptoms had worsened, and had experienced conflicts with family during this time.

Missing and Abused Dementia Patients

In a super-aged society, conflicts between elderly people suffering from chronic illnesses such as dementia and their families have emerged as a national issue. As the number of dementia patients increases, more than 12,000 cases of missing dementia patients are reported to the police annually. Many of these patients return home, but the hardships faced by the patients themselves, their families, and those around them are severe. According to the National Police Agency, the number of missing dementia patients was 6,566 in 2010, increasing to 12,131 in 2018, 12,479 in 2019, and 12,272 in 2020, showing an upward trend. Compared to ten years ago, this is nearly double. In the past three years, the number of undiscovered cases (patients not found after being reported missing) was 8, 3, and 3 respectively, and cumulatively, 133 dementia patients remain missing and unfound.

Beyond property disputes, some dementia elderly are neglected or abused because caregivers can no longer care for them. According to the National Police Agency, reports of elder abuse to the 112 hotline reached 11,918 cases last year, a 22.8% increase from the previous year. On May 26, B (25) was arrested on charges of killing a family member and abandoning a corpse. Between January and May, B is accused of killing his father, whom he cared for in a multi-family house in Seosan, Chungnam. The father suffered from dementia and diabetes, and B did not provide prescribed medication or food. Additionally, evidence of physical abuse was found, including broken ribs. After killing his father, B kept the body in a refrigerator for a month before abandoning it.

Crimes targeting dementia patients are also increasing. On June 23, the Suwon High Court Criminal Division 2-3 (Presiding Judges Lee Sang-ho, Wang Jeong-ok, Kim Gwan-yong) overturned a previous ruling and sentenced C (69) to five years in prison for violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud) and other charges. C was prosecuted for embezzling 1.37 billion won from dementia patient D’s account over about 200 transactions from September 2014 to December 2020. Knowing D’s account password, C transferred cash to his own account via bank ATMs. C submitted a will to the court claiming that D, who had dementia, had entrusted all property management to him. However, the National Forensic Service concluded that the handwriting was “inconclusive.” According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there were 406 cases of “economic exploitation,” where elderly people’s property or rights were taken against their will last year. Economic exploitation cases numbered 381 in 2018 but have not dropped below 400 since 2019.

Adult Guardianship System Chosen to Prevent Harm... Withdrawal Nullifies Guardianship Designation

The adult guardianship system is a method chosen to prevent property damage to elderly dementia patients. This system allows the family court to appoint a legal guardian to make decisions on behalf of a person who lacks judgment or decision-making ability due to dementia or other reasons and who cannot protect their own interests. Dementia patients can avoid conflicts over property through the adult guardianship system and maintain the capacity to continue treatment. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of adult guardianship applications was 8,180 in 2020, an increase of about 17% from the previous year. This figure is more than double that of 2016 (3,716 cases).

However, the adult guardianship system has loopholes. A person who applied for adult guardianship can cancel it regardless of the court’s approval. If the court appoints a third party such as a lawyer as the guardian instead of the applicant, canceling the guardianship can nullify the entire guardianship designation. Children who seek to exploit their dementia-affected parents’ property can abuse this loophole.

Attorney Park Woong-hee said, “It is true that more people are trying to use the adult guardianship system, but the number is still small compared to the number of dementia patients. If someone becomes the guardian to cover treatment costs with their parents’ property but suddenly a lawyer is appointed instead, they may have to pay unexpected additional fees.”

Actress Yoon Jeong-hee, who suffers from dementia, is a representative example. There was conflict over who should be her adult guardian between her husband, pianist Baek Geon-woo, and Yoon’s siblings. After Yoon moved to Paris in May 2019, her three siblings filed objections in the French court against Baek and Yoon’s biological daughter, Baek Jin-hee, regarding property and personal guardianship status. The siblings lost in the French court, and in March this year, the Seoul Family Court appointed Baek Jin-hee as the adult guardian. Nevertheless, Yoon’s brother Son continues the conflict by filing an appeal against the Seoul Family Court’s decision.

Experts advise that the burden on caregivers, who face social pressure, should be alleviated. Professor Ham Kyung-ae of the Counseling and Therapy Graduate School at Silla University said, “The root cause of conflicts surrounding elderly dementia patients is the Confucian idea that children must unconditionally support their parents. As Confucianism is gradually breaking down, the state must establish systems and infrastructure to manage and support elderly dementia patients.”