Unclaimed deaths nearly double in four years... 8 in 10 are aged 60 or older

[Financial News] Unclaimed deaths have nearly doubled over the past four years, with most involving older adults. More than 8 in 10 of the additional unclaimed deaths recorded during this period involved people aged 60 or older, who died alone without their bodies being entrusted to family members or acquaintances.
According to the Korea Funeral Culture and Policy Institute on the 22nd, there were 3,863 unclaimed deaths in South Korea during the first half of this year. Of these, 3,005 involved people aged 60 or older, accounting for 77.8% of the total. In other words, about 8 in 10 unclaimed deaths involved people aged 60 or older.
The overall number has also grown every year. The number of unclaimed deaths rose from 3,603 in 2021 to 4,842 in 2022, 5,543 in 2023, 6,366 in 2024 and 7,171 in 2025. Last year's figure was 3,568, or 99%, higher than in 2021, nearly doubling in four years.
This trend was particularly pronounced among older adults. The number of unclaimed deaths involving people aged 60 or older increased from 2,380 in 2021 to 3,330 in 2022, 4,006 in 2023, 4,707 in 2024 and 5,394 in 2025. While the total number of unclaimed deaths increased by 3,568 over the four-year period, the number among those aged 60 or older rose by 3,014, accounting for 84.5% of the overall increase.
The change was even greater among those aged 70 and older. The number of unclaimed deaths in this age group rose from 1,382 in 2021 to 1,843 in 2022, 2,261 in 2023, 2,682 in 2024 and 3,152 in 2025, reaching about 2.3 times the 2021 level in four years. A total of 1,756 such deaths had already been recorded in the first half of this year.
The proportion of people aged 60 or older among all unclaimed deaths has also risen steadily. It increased from 66.1% in 2021 to 68.8% in 2022, 72.3% in 2023, 73.9% in 2024 and 75.2% in 2025. The figure reached 77.8% in the first half of this year, up 11.7 percentage points from 2021.
Unclaimed deaths include not only cases involving people without family or relatives, but also cases in which next of kin cannot be identified or refuse or avoid taking custody of the body. As the proportion of older adults continues to grow, the need for social measures to support people who become estranged from their families or die without anyone to arrange their funerals is also increasing.
An official from the Korea Funeral Culture and Policy Institute explained, "When an unclaimed death occurs, the police confirm the person's identity and investigate their next of kin before the local government with jurisdiction takes custody of the body. The confirmed next of kin are then asked whether they intend to take custody of the body. If there are no next of kin or they decline to take custody, the death is officially classified as an unclaimed death, and the local government provides support for a public funeral in accordance with its ordinances."
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyuk Reporter