<Anchor> It
's friendly economy time.
Reporter Han Ji-yeon is also here today (28th).
It is said that life expectancy in Korea is quite high.
<Reporter>
The life expectancy of Koreans came out to be 83.5 years, which ranked second after Japan, which was 84.7 years old.
Compared to the average of 38 OECD countries, this figure is three years older.
To explain exactly what life expectancy is, it's an estimate of how many more years a zero-year-old will live if the death rate remains at the current level.
Unexpected 'variables' such as traffic accidents and extreme choices are excluded from the average.
It can be said that the number reflects the nutritional status, medical technology, and the level of health management.
The life expectancy announced this time is based on 2020, which is 3.3 years higher than 10 years ago.
Interestingly, this was the corona virus.
While the OECD average decreased by 0.5 years in one year, Korea rose by 0.2 years.
This seems to be because our people have been washing their hands well, keeping distance, and taking good care of their health.
<Anchor>
Our dedicated medical staff and our medical system seem to have had an impact as well.
In particular, Korea is famous for its good access to medical care.
It seems that it is almost the best in the world, and that's why, when I looked at the number of times I was treated by doctors, it was said that Korea ranks first.
<Reporter>
The OECD average is about 6 times a year, but in Korea, it is close to 15 times, which is more than double this.
That's a pretty high number.
Except for us, there are only two countries that receive treatment more than 10 times a year.
Slovakia barely passed 10 innings, and it was 10.1.
Japan, which ranks first in life expectancy, also recorded 12.4 times, lower than Korea.
Koreans also bought a lot of medicine, but when I calculated the world price level, it came in third place after Belgium and Germany.
At this point, you might think, 'Doesn't our people have a little health anxiety?' But like the proverb that sputum blocks anything with a hoe, life expectancy has increased because we didn't go to the hospital and get sick.
In addition, unhealthy smoking rates and alcohol consumption also showed a long-term decline.
<Anchor>
In this way, Korea has a good medical system and good health care, so life expectancy seems to be increasing a little bit. On the contrary, the birth rate, that is, the birth rate that gives birth to children is very low.
Then the aging population will inevitably get worse.
<Reporter>
That's right.
Data from the National Statistical Office came out yesterday, so I took it out once. The number of senior citizens aged 55 to 79 exceeded 15 million for the first time in May.
That's an increase of over 330,000 from a year ago.
This is an increase of nearly 5 million compared to 10 years ago.
But do you see any point of support here that you want me to be right?
That's the age range.
Given the increase in average life expectancy and life expectancy, the question is whether it is possible to include people in their 55s to early to mid 60s as the elderly.
In particular, the current legal retirement age, the age at which one must resign from work as the word means, is 60 years old.
84% of people in Korea also agreed that the age should be increased to 65, with the theory of extending the retirement age being raised around the world, and the number of working older people is also increasing.
Not only the number of employed people, but also the employment rate reached 60%, a record high.
<Anchor>
The number of older people who want to continue working in the future is also increasing.
<Reporter>
Seven out of 10 people said they wanted to continue working, and the biggest reason for wanting to work was old age anxiety.
The average age of older people when they quit their primary jobs in the past was under 50, and even 4 out of 10 unintentionally became unemployed.
However, less than half of the elderly have received a pension in the past year.
Even if they received a pension, the average monthly receipt per person was only 690,000 won, which is about 100,000 won more than the minimum cost of living.
Of course, you will have to find a job.
'I work to earn living expenses' accounted for the largest proportion at 57%.
In addition, as life expectancy increases, people are forced to work until they are older.