18.4% of rural residents aged 65 and older need assistance with daily activities; about 210,000 receive no help

Those who do receive care rely heavily on family — 46.8% on household members, 42.7% on relatives living elsewhere

KREI calls for community-based care systems to help elderly residents age in place

Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

About 460,000 rural residents aged 65 and older need assistance with daily activities, yet nearly half of them — roughly 210,000 people — receive no help at all, whether from family or public care services, according to new research.

The findings come from the Korea Rural Economic Institute's report "Transformation of Rural Policy in Response to Low Birth Rates and Super-Aging (Year 2 of 2)," released Tuesday. Analyzing data from the 2023 Survey on the Actual Conditions of the Elderly, KREI found that 18.4 percent of rural elderly — about 460,000 people — require assistance with daily living. The analysis drew on responses from 2,628 people living in towns and townships out of a total survey pool of 10,078 elderly respondents. The estimated total rural elderly population used as the baseline is about 2.48 million.

KREI assessed care needs based on whether respondents could independently perform basic activities of daily living — such as dressing and eating — as well as instrumental activities such as housekeeping and going out.

The more pressing concern is that a large share of those who need help are not receiving it. Among rural elderly who require assistance with daily activities, 47.2 percent — about 210,000 people — receive no support of any kind, public or private. That means nearly one in two elderly people who need care are going without it.

Even among those who do receive care, reliance on family is high. Of rural elderly receiving assistance, 46.8 percent get help from family members they live with, and 42.7 percent from relatives living separately. Because respondents could select multiple sources of support, some individuals are counted in more than one category.

Among formal public services, 36.9 percent of those receiving care used long-term care insurance for the elderly. Tailored elderly care services accounted for 4.9 percent, and other public care services for 2.2 percent. Informal support from relatives, neighbors, friends or acquaintances was cited by 22.0 percent, while 11.4 percent used private paid services.

Care status of rural elderly who need assistance with daily activities Source: Korea Rural Economic Institute

Category / Rate / Estimated number Rural elderly needing daily assistance (share of total) / 18.4% / About 460,000 Need help but receive no public or private support / 47.2% / About 210,000 Assisted by household family members* / 46.8% / — Assisted by non-household family members* / 42.7% / — Using long-term care insurance for the elderly* / 36.9% / — Assisted by relatives, neighbors, friends or acquaintances* / 22.0% / — Using private paid services* / 11.4% / — Using tailored elderly care services* / 4.9% / — Using other public care services* / 2.2% / —

KREI called for the development of a care system that supports "aging in place" — allowing elderly rural residents to continue living in their own communities. While the vast majority of rural elderly want to remain where they are, the institute said the existing long-term care insurance system alone is insufficient to meet that need.

As an alternative, KREI proposed a community-led care model in which local governments, welfare agencies and health institutions work in partnership with resident organizations. Under this approach, communities would collectively take on the daily living support and relational care that public services alone cannot adequately provide.

"Rural policy in an era of low birth rates and super-aging should focus not merely on increasing the population, but on ensuring that residents can access the care and lifestyle services they need even as the population shrinks — and that agriculture and local communities remain sustainable," said Kim Jeong-seop, a senior research fellow at KREI. "An urgent policy shift tailored to rural realities is needed, including formally recognizing township-level resident organizations as policy partners and providing them with stable support."


adastra@heraldcorp.com