Illustrated by Kim Sang-min
Last year, 3,378 people were discovered only after they passed away lonely and disconnected from their surroundings. Within five years, such lonely deaths increased by 40 percent, with men in their 50s and 60s accounting for a particularly high proportion.
According to the results of the “2022 Lonely Death Survey” announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 14th, the number of deaths classified as lonely deaths in the last five years reached 15,066. This investigation was conducted for the first time at the central government level in accordance with the ‘Lonely Death Prevention Act’, which was implemented in April last year. As defined by the law, a person who lives alone, cut off from family and relatives, dies alone due to suicide or soldiering, and the body is found after a certain amount of time has elapsed. .
The number of deaths by loneliness over the past five years has continued to rise, increasing from 2412 in 2017 to 3378 last year. It has increased by 40% over 5 years and an annual average of 8.8%. The proportion of deaths by dying alone among all deaths is also on the rise, rising from 0.8% in 2017 to 1.1% last year. By gender, the number of male deaths was more than four times greater than that of females over the past five years, and last year, male deaths were 5.3 times greater than female deaths, widening the gap. The average annual increase in lonely deaths was also higher for men (10.0%) than for women (5.6%).
By age, the proportion of deaths in their 50s and 60s recorded 58.6% as of last year, accounting for more than half. In particular, in 2020 and last year, only male deaths in their 50s and 60s accounted for more than half of all deaths by loneliness. The proportion of those in their 20s and 30s showed a decreasing trend from 8.4% in 2017 to 6.5% last year, but the proportion of deaths due to extreme choices increased with age.
By region, Gyeonggi (3,185 people), Seoul (2,748 people), and Busan (1,408 people) had the highest number of deaths from loneliness over the past five years, in order of highest population. However, in terms of the rate of lonely deaths per 100,000 population, as of last year, Busan (9.8), Daejeon (8.8), Incheon (8.5), Chungnam (8.3), and Gwangju (7.7) appeared in the order. It appeared that loneliness was concentrated. Among the total deaths, the regions with the highest share of lonely deaths were Daejeon (1.6%), Incheon (1.5%), and Busan and Gwangju (1.4% each). Regions with the highest average annual growth rate were Jeju (38.4%), Daejeon (23.0%), Gangwon (13.2%), and Jeonnam (12.7%).
As for the places where lonely deaths occurred, houses including detached houses, multi-household houses, and villas were the most common, followed by apartments and studios. As of last year, as of last year, 22.4% of brothers and sisters, 21.9% of landlords, 16.6% of neighbors, and 13.6% of acquaintances were the first discoverers of lonely deaths.