Koreans may have to pay as much as 25% of income for health benefits by 2072: report
South Koreans' financial burden for maintaining the National Health Insurance Service could rise to a quarter of income due to population aging and increasing life expectancy, a study showed Sunday.
The study, carried out by Seoul National University's Tech-biz Innovation Platform, estimated the financial impact of population aging on the state-run health insurance. As of last year, South Korea officially became a "superaged" society by the United Nations' definition, as one out of every five Koreans was at least 65.
The team derived three possible scenarios, and the most probable of the three showed the mandated insurance rate for those employed full-time for at least one month — currently sitting at 7.09 percent, split between employer and employee — would rise to 10.04 percent by 2035, 15.81 percent by 2050, and to 25.09 percent by 2072.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare sets the rate for the state-run health insurance program annually as a proportion of income. The rate was frozen for the third straight year in 2025, but had risen consistently since 5.33 percent in 2010.
Researchers noted that this was a conservative estimate, which did not factor in possibilities such as a rise in the cost of medical services or a decrease in general wages due to economic slump.
The study was commissioned by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, which is under the presidential office, but is mainly handled by the Health Ministry.
Health fees projected to skyrocket in 'super-aged' Korea
The NHIS is part of the country's public health safety net, to which all Koreans and many foreigners are mandated to subscribe. The legal limit for the insurance rate is 8 percent of income, but there is an ongoing discussion about raising the cap.
With more senior citizens in the country than ever before, the ratio of the current health expenditure to gross domestic product has been consistently rising. It was 2.6 percent of the GDP throughout the 1970s, according to the Health Ministry, but it has climbed to 7.9 percent in 2020 and to 9.2 percent in 2023.
Advances in modern medicine have extended life expectancy, but the ongoing slump in total fertility rate — the number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — has resulted in an overall aging population. The total fertility rate for 2024 inched up slightly to 0.75 from 0.72 in 2023, but it was still the lowest figure among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The NHIS sets aside a portion of premiums to cover elderly medical fees, which is currently set at 0.91 percent of each subscriber's income. This rate is expected to steeply climb to 1.95 percent by 2035, 5.84 percent by 2050, and 13.97 percent by 2072, which would be over 15 times the figure in 2025.
The number of senior citizens needing long-term care is also expected to spike in that time, from 7.14 percent of the population in 2023 to 16.4 percent by 2072.
"Without a sustainable national health insurance program and the long-term care insurance program, the social security system will weaken and lead to the deteriorated quality of life for seniors in the superaged society," the researchers noted.
Possible responses to this issue include expanding senior care services alongside systemic changes to more effectively manage health-related spending. The study also suggested an adjustment in the legal definition of the "senior citizen," which is set at 65.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Korea Herald
South Koreans live longer, but suicide rate remains highest
Life expectancy rises to 83.5 years, outpacing OECD average by over two years South Korea's life expectancy reached 83.5 years as of 2023, surpassing by 2.4 years the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's average of 81.1 years, a report released by the Paris-based organization showed Wednesday. The same OECD Health Statistics 2025 report released via South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare showed that the country continues to report the highest suicide rate among OECD member nations, despite progress in life expectancy and health outcomes. Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a newborn is expected to live based on current mortality trends. Indicators also show improvements in medical outcomes. South Korea's avoidable mortality rate, which refers to the average number of deaths from preventable causes, stood at 151.0 per 100,000 people in 2022, significantly lower than the OECD average of 228.6. A lower number means the quality of the medical environment is higher. The rate has declined by 3.1 percent on a yearly average over the past decade, indicating a steady improvement in health care quality. The country's infant mortality rate was also lower, at 2.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to the OECD average of 4.1. High suicide, smoking rates with rising obesity Since 2003, the country has topped the list in suicide mortality. The latest comparable data from 2022 showed South Korea's suicide rate stood at 23.2 deaths per 100,000 people — more than twice the OECD average of 10.7. At the same time, there have been signs of gradual improvement. From 2012 to 2022, Korea's suicide rate dropped by 23.4 percent, from 30.3 to 23.2, outpacing the OECD average decline of 16.4 percent over the same period. In 2023, South Korea's current health expenditure amounted to 8.5 percent of gross domestic product, slightly lower than the OECD average of 9.1 percent. However, due to the rapidly aging population, per capita health spending has grown faster than in most countries. Korea's per capita health expenditure rose by an average of 7.8 percent annually over the past decade, compared to the OECD average increase of 5.2 percent. In terms of purchasing power parity, which is a yardstick for comparing the purchasing power of different currencies, the figure stood at $4,586 per capita in 2023. In 2023, 15.3 percent of South Koreans aged 15 and older were classified as daily smokers, higher than the OECD average of 13.2 percent. However, the smoking rate has been steadily declining, down from 19.9 percent in 2013 and 17.5 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, per capita annual alcohol consumption was 7.8 liters in 2023, below the OECD average of 8.6 liters. Alcohol intake, similar to smoking, has trended downward over the past decade. Despite lower rates of overweight and obesity compared to other OECD countries, South Korea is seeing a gradual rise in obesity. In 2023, 36.5 percent of people aged 15 and over had a body mass index of 25 or higher — the second-lowest among OECD countries after Japan at 26 percent. While still low in ranking, this marked an increase from 31.5 percent in 2013 and 34.3 percent in 2018.
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Korea Herald
South Koreans are sleeping less, spending more time on screen
South Koreans are getting slightly less sleep and spending more of their free time in front of screens, according to new data released Monday. The 2024 report from Statistics Korea found that the average daily sleep time was 8 hours and 4 minutes, down 8 minutes from 2019. It marks the first decline in average sleep since the country began tracking how people spend their time in 1999. Back then, South Koreans slept an average of 7 hours and 47 minutes a night. That figure gradually rose, peaking at 8 hours and 12 minutes in 2019. The latest data reveals clear differences by age group. Teenagers got the most sleep, averaging 8 hours and 37 minutes per night, while people in their 50s slept the least, at just 7 hours and 40 minutes. When it comes to how people spend their free time, media consumption, which includes watching TV, streaming videos, reading and browsing the internet, accounted for the largest share. On average, South Koreans had 5 hours and 8 minutes of free time per day, with 2 hours and 43 minutes spent on media. Notably, the biggest increase was in the use of digital devices. Time spent on smartphones, tablets, and computers during free time nearly doubled from 36 minutes per day in 2019 to 1 hour and 8 minutes in 2024.
Korea Herald
6 days ago
- Korea Herald
Koreans may have to pay as much as 25% of income for health benefits by 2072: report
Increasing medical costs due to population aging likely to lead to bigger financial burden South Koreans' financial burden for maintaining the National Health Insurance Service could rise to a quarter of income due to population aging and increasing life expectancy, a study showed Sunday. The study, carried out by Seoul National University's Tech-biz Innovation Platform, estimated the financial impact of population aging on the state-run health insurance. As of last year, South Korea officially became a "superaged" society by the United Nations' definition, as one out of every five Koreans was at least 65. The team derived three possible scenarios, and the most probable of the three showed the mandated insurance rate for those employed full-time for at least one month — currently sitting at 7.09 percent, split between employer and employee — would rise to 10.04 percent by 2035, 15.81 percent by 2050, and to 25.09 percent by 2072. The Ministry of Health and Welfare sets the rate for the state-run health insurance program annually as a proportion of income. The rate was frozen for the third straight year in 2025, but had risen consistently since 5.33 percent in 2010. Researchers noted that this was a conservative estimate, which did not factor in possibilities such as a rise in the cost of medical services or a decrease in general wages due to economic slump. The study was commissioned by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, which is under the presidential office, but is mainly handled by the Health Ministry. Health fees projected to skyrocket in 'super-aged' Korea The NHIS is part of the country's public health safety net, to which all Koreans and many foreigners are mandated to subscribe. The legal limit for the insurance rate is 8 percent of income, but there is an ongoing discussion about raising the cap. With more senior citizens in the country than ever before, the ratio of the current health expenditure to gross domestic product has been consistently rising. It was 2.6 percent of the GDP throughout the 1970s, according to the Health Ministry, but it has climbed to 7.9 percent in 2020 and to 9.2 percent in 2023. Advances in modern medicine have extended life expectancy, but the ongoing slump in total fertility rate — the number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime — has resulted in an overall aging population. The total fertility rate for 2024 inched up slightly to 0.75 from 0.72 in 2023, but it was still the lowest figure among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The NHIS sets aside a portion of premiums to cover elderly medical fees, which is currently set at 0.91 percent of each subscriber's income. This rate is expected to steeply climb to 1.95 percent by 2035, 5.84 percent by 2050, and 13.97 percent by 2072, which would be over 15 times the figure in 2025. The number of senior citizens needing long-term care is also expected to spike in that time, from 7.14 percent of the population in 2023 to 16.4 percent by 2072. "Without a sustainable national health insurance program and the long-term care insurance program, the social security system will weaken and lead to the deteriorated quality of life for seniors in the superaged society," the researchers noted. Possible responses to this issue include expanding senior care services alongside systemic changes to more effectively manage health-related spending. The study also suggested an adjustment in the legal definition of the "senior citizen," which is set at 65.
