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More divorce among the elderly leads to more remarriage

Posted December. 11, 2013 01:27,   

한국어

While Korea’s overall divorce rate decreases every year, the divorce rate for elderly or middle-aged Koreans is increasing. In line with this, the remarriage rate for people aged over 50 is dramatically increasing.

According to the “Status of Divorce and Remarriage in Korea” report released by the Statistics Korea on Tuesday, the number of divorces among people whose married life exceeded 20 years hit a record high of 30,200 cases, accounting for 26.4 percent of the total divorces. This age group topped the list by surpassing the group of people married for less than four years, which accounted for 24.7 percent (28,200 cases). In 1982, the number of divorces among couples married for more than 20 years only stood only at 1,300.

The overall number of divorces in Korea is in decline. After reaching the peak of 166,600 in 2003, the figure has decreased at the annual rate of 4.1 percent and reached 114,300 last year. However, the divorces of couples married for over 20 years increased to 30,200 in 2012 from 29,700 in 2003. The increasing divorce rate among the elderly is in clear contrast to other age groups.

The increasing divorce rate for elderly couples has led to an increase in remarriage among the elderly. The number of remarriage among women aged over 50 stood at 12,300 cases last year, about ten times more than 1,100 cases in 1982. This age group accounted for 21.8 percent of the total remarriage among women. Men aged over 50 took up 35.6 percent last year, increased to 15.5 percent in 1982.

What is significant is that marriage between a woman who has been divorced and a man who has not been married is increasing. Last year, the kind of remarriage numbered 18,900, 5,000 more than the opposite case. According to the Statistics Korea, the marriage between a woman who has been divorced and a man how has not been married exceeded the marriage between a man who has been divorced and a woman who has not been married, for the first time in 1995 and has maintained the superiority since then.