[The Editors' Verdict] The Tragedy of Financial Hardship: A New Challenge for the Welfare State

On November 23rd, a 65-year-old mother and her 36-year-old daughter were found dead in a multi-family house in Seodaemun-gu. According to the police investigation, they were subjects identified as living in welfare blind spots. The mother was a retired public official receiving a pension of over 2 million KRW per month. However, their electricity bills were overdue by five months, and various utility bills, health insurance premiums, and financial debt repayments had also been long overdue. Although not severe, it is presumed they had been experiencing financial hardship. Following the 2014 Songpa three-generation family incident, the government and local authorities introduced various measures to prevent suicides caused by financial difficulties, but similar incidents continue to occur recently. Notably, suicides, which were previously mainly observed among the extremely poor and elderly, are now spreading to households with some level of housing, employment, and income. This is no longer an individual or family issue but a societal problem.

Kim Eun-ha, a senior researcher at the Korea Social Security Information Service, and Baek Hak-young, a professor in the Department of Social Welfare at Kangwon National University, published a paper titled “A Study on the Characteristics of Suicide Deaths Due to Financial Hardship and Experiences of Basic Livelihood Security” in the 72nd issue of Critical Social Policy last year. The research team utilized data from a comprehensive investigation conducted by the Central Psychological Autopsy Center (Ministry of Health and Welfare) on 23,589 suicide deaths discovered over the past five years (2013?2017). The study found that among suicide deaths from 2013 to 2017, 9,467 cases (about 40% of the total) involved economic problems. Cases where economic problems were confirmed and were the primary cause of suicide accounted for approximately 19% overall. This means that 4 out of 10 suicide victims experienced economic difficulties, and 2 out of 10 died by suicide due to economic problems.

Suicide deaths due to economic problems had an average age in the 40s, which was relatively lower compared to groups without economic issues, and the majority were engaged in work or job-seeking activities. Among those with occupational problems, unemployment was notably high. Debt, sudden income reduction, and persistent poverty were prominent factors. Particularly, 8 out of 10 had no experience of basic livelihood security through the National Basic Livelihood Security System or support programs for the near-poor throughout their lives.

The government and local authorities are implementing measures to identify households in crisis experiencing financial hardship and to create safety nets for them. However, identifying these crisis households and providing administrative and financial support requires both personnel and funding. This is where welfare blind spot measures inevitably face limitations. According to data submitted by Kang Sun-woo, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, collected from 17 cities and provinces nationwide, the number of dedicated public officials for the “Visiting Health and Welfare Service” increased from 9,548 in 2019 to 11,813 in 2021. During the same period, the number of crisis households they managed rose from 633,075 to 1,339,909. While the number of crisis households more than doubled, the number of officials increased by only 24%. On average, one public official is responsible for 113 crisis households, with some handling over 300. These officials face over 4,000 to 5,000 cases of verbal abuse and assault from complainants annually, and some have died by suicide due to excessive workload and stress.

Regardless of whether South Korea is considered a welfare-advanced or welfare-lagging country, given its position among the world’s top 10 economies and a welfare budget exceeding 100 trillion KRW, the fact that mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, and entire families make extreme choices due to economic problems poses a threat and a new challenge to the welfare state of South Korea. While efforts to identify blind spots are important, it is also necessary to diversify perspectives on financial hardship through psychological autopsies and research on suicide victims. An old saying goes, “Even the king cannot save the poor.” Now, poverty and extreme choices caused by poverty have become challenges that the nation must address. Lee Kyung-ho, Head of Biohealth Department