South Korea is facing a rapid ageing dilemma with a long-term impact on its economic dynamism and national security. Innovative approaches and a new mindset will help defuse this impending demographic crisis.

As South Korea grapples with an increasingly pugnacious North, another major crisis looms on the horizon. According to the United Nations World Population Prospects (UNWPP), 6.4 million Koreans or 12.7% of South Korea’s population were aged 65 or above in 2014. By 2026, an astounding 10.7 million Koreans or 20.5% of the population are expected to be aged 65 or above.

Considering that only 551,000 Koreans or 2.9% of the population were aged 65 or above when the Korean War broke out in 1950, South Korea had turned into an aged society within a few decades, with major repercussions anticipated ahead.

… Lee Sang Ok is a visiting RSIS research fellow from the Ministry of National Defence, Republic of Korea and Tan Teck Boon is a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.