The ongoing increase in the senior population in South Korea is expected to drive up the legally mandated government budget for welfare to 237 trillion won ($171 billion) over the next four years, a government report submitted to the National Assembly showed Sunday.
The state report for the budget plans between 2025 and 2029 showed that statutory expenditures in the welfare sector will increase every year from 181.8 trillion won in 2025 at an annual average of 6.8 percent. This will mark about a 30.4 percent jump overall by 2029.
South Korea became a "superaged society" by the United Nation's definition, with 20 percent of the country's population being 65 or older, as of December 2024. With the ongoing increase in the senior population, the government has already upped estimates for the 2027 and 2028 budget for welfare to 211.2 trillion won and 224.1 trillion won, respectively.
Previous estimates for the welfare budgets of these years in a government report submitted in 2024 were 204.9 trillion won for 2027 and 214.1 trillion won for 2028.
Pension-related expenditures are expected to surpass 100 trillion won annually for the first time in 2027, rising from 85.4 trillion won this year to 102.8 trillion won. It is expected to reach 118 trillion won by 2029. The number of recipients for the National Pension program will go from 7.83 million this year to 9.57 million in 2029.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
