South Korea officially enters super-aged society status

Korea has formally become a "super-aged" society as the share of its population aged 65 or over surpassed 20 percent, the interior ministry said Tuesday, as the country copes with a demographic crisis of a rapidly aging population and low births.

As of Monday, the number of Koreans aged 65 or older stood at 10.24 million, accounting for 20.0 percent of the country's total population of 51.22 million, according to the ministry.

The United Nations classifies countries where more than 7 percent of the population is 65 or older as an aging society, those with over 14 percent as an aged society and those with more than 20 percent as a super-aged society.

The age group in Korea has gradually increased over the years, standing at 4.94 million in 2008.

It accounted for 10 percent of the population in 2008 before surpassing 15 percent in 2019 and reaching 19.05 percent in January this year.

As of Monday, the number of women in the age group stood at 5.69 million, compared with 4.54 million men.

The age group accounted for 27.18 percent of the population in Jeolla Province — the highest among the country's major regions. The central city of Sejong had the lowest share at 11.57 percent.

The age group accounted for 19.41 percent of the total population in Seoul.

"By installing a population-focused ministry, fundamental and systematic response measures are urgently needed," a ministry official said in a release.

Korea has unveiled plans to launch a new ministry of population strategy to address its demographic crisis. (Yonhap)