[2025 Unaccompanied Deaths Report②] Four-Year-Old Warning Becomes Reality... Lonely Deaths Become Routine

Compared to the 2021 Report on Unaccompanied Deaths
Unaccompanied Deaths More Than Doubled, Elderly Proportion Rises
Top Two Places of Death Remain Medical Institutions and Homes

When The Asia Business Daily revisited the issue of unaccompanied deaths after four years, the landscape of death appeared even quieter and older. While the 2021 report warned of the "increasing number of lonely deaths," this latest investigation confirms that the warning has become a reality, as shown by the numbers. Over the past five years, the number of unaccompanied deaths has more than doubled, with a significant portion being elderly individuals who passed away in hospitals or at home. Deaths without family to call their names or acquaintances to hold funerals have become a routine social phenomenon in every region across the country.

Unaccompanied Deaths More Than Doubled in Five Years... Elderly Make Up a Larger Share

Compared to 2021, the number of unaccompanied deaths has risen sharply over the past five years. From 2016 to 2020, there were 10,751 unaccompanied deaths nationwide, including cases where the year of death and age could not be determined. In contrast, from 2021 to May of this year, there were 23,643 such deaths, more than doubling in just five years. This figure also includes cases where the year of death and age are unknown.

By age group, the gap between unaccompanied deaths among those aged 65 and older and other age groups has become more pronounced. Not only has the total number of deaths increased, but the proportion of elderly among all unaccompanied deaths has also risen. In 2021, among 10,361 unaccompanied deaths with known ages, 4,799 were aged 65 or older, accounting for 46.3%. This year, among 23,097 deaths with known ages, 13,520 were aged 65 or older, making up 58.5%.

Conversely, the proportion of those aged 65 and under has decreased. Four years ago, there were 2,411 unaccompanied deaths among those in their 50s, accounting for 23.3% of the total, but this year, although the number increased to 4,075, the proportion dropped to 17.6%. The absolute number of unaccompanied deaths among those in their 40s and under 40s also increased, but their proportions fell by 3.4 percentage points and 1.9 percentage points, respectively.

Looking at each metropolitan government, the increase in elderly unaccompanied deaths was a common trend. In the 2021 report, only Busan (49.96%) and North Jeolla Province (51.98%) had elderly making up around 50% of unaccompanied deaths, but as of this year, every metropolitan government saw the proportion of elderly unaccompanied deaths exceed 50%. In Busan, 1,523 out of all unaccompanied deaths were elderly, accounting for 63.9%. North Jeolla Province (62.0%, 417 people), North Gyeongsang Province (60.2%, 655 people), and South Jeolla Province (60.0%, 367 people) also recorded proportions in the 60% range.

Top Two Places of Death Remain Medical Institutions and Homes

In 2021, only the places of death for unaccompanied deaths in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province were analyzed, but this year the scope was expanded nationwide. At that time, among 5,224 unaccompanied deaths in the capital area, 3,149 occurred in medical institutions, accounting for 60.3%. As of this year, nationwide, 14,164 out of 22,745 unaccompanied deaths (62.3%) occurred in medical institutions. This is attributed to the increase in elderly unaccompanied deaths.

In 2021, 1,352 unaccompanied deaths in the capital area occurred in the deceased's own homes (25.9%). As of this year, over the past five years, 7,440 people (32.7%) died in their own homes.

The number of unaccompanied deaths occurring in public places such as streets, riversides, and parking lots, rather than in hospitals or homes, has also more than tripled nationwide. Four years ago, only 322 such cases were recorded in the capital area from 2016 to 2020, but from 2021 to May of this year, 1,026 unaccompanied deaths occurred in public places nationwide. This accounts for 4.5% of all unaccompanied deaths in the past five years, a significant figure.

Meanwhile, the trend of the majority of unaccompanied deaths being male has remained unchanged. Over the past five years, among 22,259 unaccompanied deaths with known gender, 17,152 (77.1%) were male, more than three times the number of females (5,107, 22.9%). In 2021, out of 10,767 total deaths, 8,287 (77%) were male and 2,276 (21.1%) were female.