Seoul, May 6 Elderly dementia patients in South Korea hold assets worth a combined 153.5 trillion won ($110.9 billion), which is equivalent to about 6.4 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), a report showed on Tuesday.
The assets had been owned by 1.24 million dementia patients aged 65 and above as of 2023, according to the report compiled by the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, Yonhap news agency reported.
In detail, the elderly dementia patients owned 33.4 trillion won worth of financial assets and 113.8 trillion won worth of real estate properties.
The committee forecast the "dementia money" would surpass 488 trillion won by 2050, amounting to 15.6 per cent of the GDP.
"Senior dementia patients make up only 2.4 per cent of the total population, but the value of their assets accounts for 6.4 per cent of the nation's GDP, indicating a disproportionately high concentration of wealth," the committee said.
"The asset freeze caused by dementia will likely have a significant impact on the real economy," it added.
The committee plans to monitor annual changes in the "dementia money" and discuss policies aimed at improving the private and public trust systems, as well as the guardianship system for dementia patients.
According to the latest data from the country’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, nearly one out of 10 older adults in South Korea suffer from Alzheimer's disease.
The number of dementia patients has reached 970,000 as of 2025, accounting for 9.17 per cent of those aged 65 or older.
The figure is anticipated to surpass 1 million next year and 2 million mark in 2044.
"The proportion of dementia cases among older people is expected to stay around the 10 per cent level until 2045 and increase to around 12 per cent to 13 per cent by 2059," a ministry official said.
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