Deepening Social Isolation: Relative Poverty, Suicide, and Obesity All on the Rise

[The Financial News] Korean society is becoming increasingly isolated. The relative poverty rate has risen again, and social isolation has deepened compared with the period before COVID-19. The suicide rate per 100,000 people reached its highest level in 13 years. Deaths caused by industrial accidents and fires also increased, and the number of people with obesity grew as well. People in their 40s, who are typically the most socially active, recorded the highest suicide and obesity rates, while men in their 50s reported the strongest sense of isolation.
On the 5th, KOSTAT released its Quality of Life in Korea 2025 report containing these findings. The report tracks quality of life and medium- to long-term trends in Korean society, using 71 indicators across 11 areas including employment and wages.
By category, the relative poverty rate reached 15.3% in 2024, up 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. It had peaked at 18.5% in 2011 and then declined, falling below 15% between 2021 and 2023 before rising again. This rate is lower than that of the United States of America (U.S.) at 18.1% and Japan at 15.4% as of 2023, but higher than the United Kingdom (UK) at 12.6%, Germany at 11.6%, and France at 8.7%.
In particular, the relative poverty rate among people aged 66 and older in Korea stood at a very high 39.8%. As the country enters a super-aged society with 10 million seniors, poverty among the elderly has become a critical issue that Korean society must address.
Real gross national income (GNI) per capita was 43.81 million won in 2024, up 3.5% or 1.46 million won from 42.35 million won the previous year. Since 2017, when economic growth began to stagnate, GNI growth has remained subdued, even slipping 0.3% in 2022. It began to rise again from 2023.
The social isolation rate was 33.0% in 2025, unchanged from 2023. It has not recovered to the high-20% range seen before COVID-19.
Isolation was higher among men at 35.7% than among women at 30.5%. Compared with 2023, the rate for men rose 0.5 percentage points, while the rate for women fell 0.5 percentage points. By age group, people in their 50s showed the highest isolation at 37.2%, up 2.2 percentage points from 2023, marking the largest increase among all age groups.
Participation in social organizations such as clubs, civic groups, and community associations, which had been increasing after COVID-19, also declined. The participation rate fell to 52.3% in 2024, down 5.9 percentage points from 58.2% a year earlier. The drop was particularly steep among people in their 30s and 40s, who are usually the most socially active: participation among those in their 30s fell to 52.3% and among those in their 40s to 52.6%, down 8–9 percentage points year-on-year.
The quality of public health worsened.
The obesity rate reached 38.1% in 2024, up 0.9 percentage points from 37.2% the previous year. A KOSTAT official noted, "Due to COVID-19, the obesity rate has climbed back to a level close to the record high of 38.3% in 2020." By gender, the rate for men rose 3.2 percentage points to 48.8%, while the rate for women decreased 1.6 percentage points to 26.2%. The increase was especially pronounced among people in their 40s, whose obesity rate jumped 6.4 percentage points to 44.1%, the largest rise among all age groups.
Suicides also increased again. The suicide rate per 100,000 people was 29.1 in 2024, up from 27.3 in 2023. This is the highest level since 2011, when the rate was 31.7. The rate for men rose by 3.5 to 41.8 per 100,000, while the rate for women increased by 0.1 to 16.5. By age group, people in their 40s recorded the highest rate at 4.7, followed by those in their 50s at 4.0 and those in their 30s at 3.9.
Deaths from industrial accidents also increased. There were 2,098 such deaths in 2024, up 82 from 2,016 the previous year. The industrial accident fatality rate remained unchanged over the same period at 0.98 deaths per 10,000 workers.
Although the number of fires fell by about 1,200 cases, deaths from fires rose. There were 308 fire-related deaths in 2024, 25 more than the 283 recorded a year earlier.
Some indicators of quality of life did improve.
The employment rate rose to 62.9% in 2025, up 0.2 percentage points from 62.7% the previous year. It had fallen from 60.9% in 2019 to 60.1% in 2020, but has been on a steady upward trend since then.
However, the employment rate for university graduates fell to 69.5% in 2024, down 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier.
The share of low-wage workers declined slightly to 16.1% in 2024, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. Nevertheless, Korea's proportion of low-wage workers, at 16.1% in 2023, remains higher than that of Japan at 10.4% and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 12.7%.
Leisure time increased again. Average daily leisure time was 4.3 hours in 2024, up from 4.1 hours in 2023. Satisfaction with leisure also improved, reaching 39.4% in 2025, a rise of 5.1 percentage points from 2023.
Air quality improved. The concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) fell to 16 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) in 2024, down from 19 μg/m3 the previous year.

skjung@fnnews.com Jung Sang-geun Reporter