The National Human Rights Commission of Korea recommended to the Minister of Health and Welfare that an objective standard that can assess level of risk of senior citizens living alone has to be established to provide 'basic care service for the elderly' to all eligible beneficiaries, and to improve working condition of care givers, following the Guideline on Labor Cost of Workers in Social Welfare Sector.
According to the 2013 data of the Statistics Korea, senior citizens older than 65 accounts for 12.2% of total population, and among them 20% are living alone.
Older persons living alone is a serious social issue as they have to make a living for themselves which might undermine quality of life dramatically and lead to economical and health problems or dying alone.
Article 27.2 of the Welfare of the Aged Act prescribes that the state or local governing body shall provide protective measures to the aged living alone such as on-site care service, and the Minister of Welfare and Health shall decide on details of the service and protective measures.
The basic care service for the elderly is the minimum service that protects life and safety of the aged and address social isolation of the aged. The number of the aged receiving the service is only 14.7 %.
Under the current service, each local government has different standard to select the beneficiary, which is why the elderly in need might be excluded from getting the service.
In addition, the care givers receive less wage compared to social workers whose workload is similar to them and there have been concerns that such poor working condition might lead to low quality of care service for the elderly.
That is why the NHRCK concluded that an objective standard that can assess level of risk of senior citizens living alone has to be established to provide 'basic care service for the elderly' to all eligible beneficiaries, and improving working condition of care givers is needed following the Guideline on Labor Cost of Workers in Social Welfare Sector..
