hankyoreh

The number of cases of abuse among elderly people increased by 32% over the past four years, but the elderly are not actively reporting abuse because they regard it as a personal issue or because they are ashamed, a study found.

On Oct. 29, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced it was taking comprehensive measures to prevent elderly abuse. These measures seek to correct attitudes about elderly abuse, create a system for early discovery of and quick response to abuse, and increase protection for victims and punishment for the perpetrators.

The number of cases of elderly abuse has been steadily increasing in recent years. According to the Ministry’s 2013 report on elderly abuse, reported cases jumped from 2,674 in 2009 to 3,520 in 2013.

At the same time, other elderly individuals do not report abuse because they consider abuse to be a personal issue (42.5%), do not think reporting it will change anything (22%), or feel ashamed about it (21.7%).

The Ministry plans to revise the Welfare of the Aged Act by applying the requirement to report elderly abuse to the police to six additional occupations, including employees at nursing homes and elderly care providers. It also plans to make it mandatory for police and staff from elderly protection organizations to be dispatched together to the scene of elderly abuse.

While the current laws provide grounds for organizations to request the cooperation of the police, critics have argued that this provision is not very effective since the police are not required to respond.

The ministry is also planning to increase the fine for abusing the elderly to a maximum of 30 million won (US$28,493) - double the current maximum - and to bar those convicted of abuse from working at a facility for the elderly for 10 years.

By Park Su-ji, staff reporter

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