It has been revealed that 8 out of 10 separated families residing in South Korea have entered the elderly age group of 70 and above.
According to the "2024 South-North Separated Families Survey" conducted by the Ministry of Unification on the 24th, about 85.3% of the 25,282 separated family members residing in South Korea are aged 70 or older. Those in their 80s accounted for the largest portion at 39.5%, and the super-aged group of 90 and above made up 24.1%. People in their 70s accounted for 21.7%.
When asked about the most urgent policy to be promoted, 77.2% of respondents chose "confirmation of life or death." Approximately 75.5% of separated families have not been able to confirm the life status of family members or relatives in North Korea. This was followed by regularization of separated family reunions (37.5%) and establishment of a system for exchanging letters between South and North Korea (18.2%).
The proportion of respondents who wished to "visit their hometown" was only 43%, a decrease of 26 percentage points compared to the 2021 survey (69.8%). This is interpreted as an effect of the further aging of the remaining separated family members over the past five years.
The separated families survey has been conducted every five years since 2011. Its purpose is to secure basic data necessary for policy formulation in preparation for future exchanges between separated families in South and North Korea. However, considering the aging of separated families, the related law was amended in July last year to shorten the survey cycle from five years to three years. The fourth survey, originally scheduled for 2026, was conducted last year, two years earlier. A Ministry of Unification official stated, "We will strive to establish separated family policies that meet the needs of separated families, taking into account changes in preferences for exchange forms due to the aging of separated families."
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