Korean elderly person’s poverty rate is 47.2% in 2010, which is the highest one among OECD countries. The public pension system in Korea has launched in 1988, however, only 27% of elderly persons receive old-age pension. The rapid growth of old popu...
Korean elderly person’s poverty rate is 47.2% in 2010, which is the highest one among OECD countries. The public pension system in Korea has launched in 1988, however, only 27% of elderly persons receive old-age pension. The rapid growth of old population is a major challenge for the Korean government.
Poverty is often defined as the lack of income; however, criticism for this money-based approach has been raised from academic fields and policy makers. They argue that income is only an indirect indicator, which underestimates one’s poverty level and is not able to demonstrate one’s precise welfare status.
As an alternative to the money-based approach, this study introduces the multidimensional poverty study approach. The purpose of the study is to analyze poverty and deprivation status of old persons in Seoul from multidimensional aspects of life. Policy recommendations based on the analysis are also suggested. Dimensions used in the analysis include 6 aspects such as income, labor and employment, health, personal relations, social activity, and housing status.
The results show that 56.8% of Seoul’s old population experience deprivation in two or more dimensions. Deprivation rate is relatively high in the health (48.5%) and social activity dimension (49.6%), whereas poverty rate in income is 31.9%. This result suggests the multidimensional approach is required in the elderly welfare policy as well.