Financial crimes against dementia patients go largely unpunished

Crimes targeting 154 trillion won in assets held by roughly 1 million dementia patients aged 65 or older are occurring nationwide, yet no comprehensive investigation into their scope has ever been conducted. An analysis by the Korean Gerontological Society, which combined data on the dementia population with rates of economic abuse among older adults, estimates that 67,743 dementia patients fell victim to financial crimes over the five-year period from 2020 to 2024. Of those cases, only 49 resulted in legal punishment, accounting for less than 0.1 percent.

A comprehensive review of 379 rulings on the economic abuse of older adults with dementia, issued by senior protection agencies under the Ministry of Health and Welfare and analyzed by the Dong-A Ilbo’s Hero Content Team, exposes the harsh reality of dementia-related financial crimes that has remained largely hidden amid government inaction. Among those who drained the assets of dementia patients and left them saddled with debt, family members, including spouses, children and other relatives, accounted for 52 percent of perpetrators. When care facility workers, who made up 32 percent, and acquaintances, at 12 percent, are included, people close to the victims represented 96 percent of offenders.

The methods used to siphon off assets varied widely. Some perpetrators employed so-called straw-type schemes, quietly draining money month after month by exploiting basic pensions or disability allowances. Others relied on intimidation involving violence, while another group carried out large-sum thefts by forging seal certificates to seize substantial amounts at once.

Economic abuse of dementia patients is most often uncovered incidentally during investigations into reports of physical or emotional abuse, suggesting that many cases remain undetected. Even when government agencies identify economic abuse, fewer than 10 percent of cases proceed to criminal investigation. This is largely because perpetrators are frequently family members who benefit from de facto leniency, or because they avoid accountability by questioning the credibility of dementia patients, whose statements may appear inconsistent.

In 2013, the government introduced a voluntary guardianship system that allows individuals to designate a trusted person as a guardian while they are still healthy. Over the past 12 years, however, only 199 people have applied for the program. The application process requires extensive documentation and involves complex procedures, often costing several million won in legal fees alone. Because the system is both costly and cumbersome, families typically turn to court-appointed guardianship only after disputes over assets emerge following the onset of dementia, triggering judicial intervention.

In Japan, which was examined by the Hero Content Team, every neighborhood operates a guardianship support center that provides all procedures free of charge. As a result, the number of voluntary guardianship applicants has reached 120,000. Major assets, including bank deposits and real estate, are entrusted to professional guardians or trust products, allowing family members to concentrate solely on caregiving. After this clear division of responsibilities was established, disputes among family members over money reportedly declined sharply. Twenty years from now, the number of dementia patients in South Korea is expected to reach 2 million, with their combined assets projected to total 414 trillion won. To ensure that they can spend their remaining years in security, institutional safeguards must be strengthened to serve as reliable stewards of their assets, including by lowering barriers to access the guardianship system.