The number of Koreans aged 65 and older receiving at least one public or private pension reached 9.122 million in 2024, crossing 9 million for the first time. National statistics released August 25 show the number rose by 486,000, or 5.6%, from a year earlier and now covers roughly nine in ten people in that age group.
Coverage is broad, but income adequacy remains the harder issue: more than half of recipients receive less than 500,000 won a month. The figures underline the split in Korea’s retirement system between expanding participation and the much slower task of securing enough monthly income for an aging population.