KLRI : KOREA LEGISLATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Ⅰ. Background and Purpose of Research

▶ Background of Research

○ The problem of loneliness and social isolation has surfaced in our society through the pandemic. 

- Loneliness and social isolation are technically distinct concepts, but they are closely related in that the person who feels lonely is more likely to be placed in social isolation.

○ By paying attention to the negative effects of loneliness and social isolation on individual health and well-being worldwide, social and national responses are being taken as a public health crisis.

○ Korea has enacted the "Act on the Prevention and Management of Solitary Deaths" in 2020 due to the need to prevent and respond to the increase in the number of lonely deaths from several years ago.

- Since it is more important to prevent the occurrence of loneliness through precautionary prevention, it is necessary to identify the cause of loneliness and find a group at risk of loneliness to systematically manage and support it. 

- Since loneliness occurs in social isolation, the prevention and response of social isolation is a fundamental solution to loneliness, but the law does not emphasize the prevention and response of social isolation

○ Social isolation is a new social risk that not only negatively affects individual health and well-being but also affects the welfare level of the entire population, so it is necessary to link it with health promotion, suicide prevention, and community care policies as well as to prevent loneliness. 

○ Prevention and response of social isolation needs to be considered in the establishment and implementation of policies for single-person households, and because it requires a life cycle approach, it needs to be considered in existing policies for supporting the elderly living alone or supporting the youth of the vulnerable.

○ Currently, each local government is promoting policies or projects to prevent and respond to social isolation or loneliness, but it seems that the connection with other services is not good and there is a large variation between regions by excavating through the existing crisis household discovery system without a separate judgment standard.

▶ Purpose of Research

○ Therefore, this study aims to derive measures to improve related laws by analyzing domestic and foreign laws in accordance with the need to establish a legal basis for expanding awareness of the risk of social isolation, systematic approaches and responses according to the causes and characteristics of each life cycle, and strengthening the connection with existing policies for effective and appropriate response to social isolation problems.

 

Ⅱ. Contents

▶ Concept and Reality of Social Isolation

○ Social isolation is understood to mean a state with no or significantly fewer social networks or support systems compared to loneliness, solitude, and seclusion

- Currently, the law does not define social isolation, the Solitude Prevention Act stipulates the establishment of loneliness, and many local government ordinances stipulate the definition of socially isolated households or socially isolated youths 

○ This social isolation is a risk factor that not only negatively affects an individual's physical and mental health but can lead to suicide or death, which the United States and WHO recognize as a public health crisis

○ This level of social isolation is identified in a two-year social survey as the percentage of people who have no place for help, either if they ask for housekeeping or if they need someone to talk to: 33% as of 2023

- According to the Solitary Death Prevention Act and statistics on the death of loneliness, a survey on the death of loneliness will be conducted in 2022 

- According to the results of the National Police Agency's on-site identification data on the occurrence of loneliness between 2017 and 2021, the number of deaths from loneliness was 3,378, with men four times more than women, and people in their 50s and 60s accounting for the largest proportion by age 

- According to the changed definition of solitude, the survey of deaths from loneliness released in 2024 shows that 3,661 people died of loneliness as of 2023 

○ Social isolation occurs due to various and complex causes in the life history, and it is more likely to lead to loneliness as isolation becomes chronic as participation in economic activities or social relations experience accumulates.

- Different causes and patterns of social isolation in adolescence, youth, middle age, and old age.

○ To prevent and respond to loneliness, the central government has enacted laws, established basic plans, conducted fact-finding surveys, prepared statistics on loneliness, and linked necessary services to socially isolated households through discovery of crisis households. Local governments have enacted ordinances to prevent loneliness and support socially isolated households to implement related projects by local governments.

○ The government has prepared a support plan by identifying the isolation and hiding of young people, which are becoming a serious social problem (2023), and has announced a support plan for the isolation and hiding youth 

○ The isolation status of the elderly can be understood to some extent through various surveys and statistics on the life of the elderly, and while there are some systems for the isolation of the elderly, such as policies for the elderly living alone, there are no surveys or statistics that can be separately identified, and no policies have been established for this

▶ Review of foreign legislations related to social isolation

○ As the first country to pursue a national response to loneliness, the UK has established and implemented a loneliness response strategy since 2018

- Establishment of department and minister to cope with loneliness, preparation of annual report, response by raising fund, and implementation of various programs by local government

- There is no visible legal response, but the use of social prescriptions to cope with loneliness stands out 

○ Since 2018, Japan has implemented measures to cope with solitude and isolation, establishing a department dedicated to responding to solitude and isolation in the Cabinet Office, establishing and implementing a key plan, and conducting a fact-finding survey 

- The key plan emphasizes strengthening public-private links, such as a society that is easy to demand support for solitude and isolation, linking constant counseling support in situations, creating areas that enable people to connect, and supporting related NPOs. 

- In 2023, the ｢Act on the Promotion of Solitude and Isolation Measures｣ was enacted and implemented, and it stipulates the basic ideology, the responsibilities of the state, the basic policy of the policy, the establishment of a regional council, and the establishment of a promotion system such as the headquarters for the promotion of solitude and isolation measures.

○ Germany aims to establish a strategy to respond to loneliness at the federal government level (2023) and to turn citizens' loneliness into a social problem rather than an individual by shedding political and academic light on the subject of loneliness 

- Efforts are being made to prevent and alleviate social isolation through social infrastructure accessible to the community, integrated social planning focused on social space design, support through the European Social Fund for the elderly and middle-aged, and multi-family housing programs.

○ The United States defines social isolation and loneliness as a public health crisis and emphasizes social connection 

- Promote policies for those vulnerable to social isolation and loneliness (elderly, women, single-person households, etc.) and revise the Elderly Act on social isolation of the elderly.

▶ An Analysis of Related Laws on Social Isolation in Korea 

○ Currently, the Solitude Prevention Act stipulates measures such as early detection and counseling treatment for people at risk of dying alone as the content of the policy to prevent dying alone, but it is insufficient as a legal basis for social isolation prevention and response policies.  

○ Local governments are discovering socially isolated households or groups at risk of dying alone within the existing social welfare delivery system, such as finding welfare blind spots, so other social welfare laws such as the Social Security Benefit Act need to be reviewed together.

○ Social isolation can lead to mental health problems such as loneliness and depression, and suicide attempts, so it is necessary to link mental health policies and suicide prevention policies.

○ There are differences in the causes and characteristics of social isolation by age, so an approach by life cycle is needed in establishing and implementing prevention and response policies.

○ As a result of examining the definition and prevention policy of loneliness in the ｢Act on the Prevention and Management of Solitary Deaths in terms of preventing social isolation, the need to respond to social isolation is insufficient, and the perspective of preventing social isolation in single-person household support policies and legislation is insufficient.

○ In order to discover and respond to social isolation, the law on the use and provision of social security benefits and the discovery of beneficiaries were analyzed, and the measures to find and support households in danger of dying alone and the measures to support those at risk of dying alone were divided.

○ From the perspective of linking with other policies, the ｢Act on Support for Mental Health Promotion and Welfare Services for Mental Illness, ｢Act on Suicide Prevention and the Creation of a Culture of Respect for Life, and ｢Act on Integrated Support for Local Care such as Medical and Nursing have not been established.

○ The legal basis for the prevention and response of social isolation is insufficient by reviewing the relevant regulations such as the Framework Act on Youth, the Youth Welfare Support Act, and the Elderly Welfare Act according to the need for an approach by life cycle.

▶ Legal Issues related to Prevention and Response of Social Isolation 

○ Concept of social isolation

- The concept of social isolation is unclear under the law, and the definition of social isolation households exists under the ordinance, but the targets of support are separately defined. Clarifying the concept of social isolation is a prerequisite for proactive response by identifying the cause of the occurrence, so it is necessary to prepare standards for determining the timing and necessity of the state's policy intervention.

○ Survey on Social Isolation

- As the definition of loneliness is revised in 2024, it is necessary to reflect it in the fact-finding survey, and it is difficult to use it as a basis for timely policy and legislative improvement due to gaps in the identification of risk factors for loneliness or public perception information due to the five-year cycle, missing surveys on social isolation or loneliness, and the need and situation for support may differ depending on characteristics such as life cycle, disability, physical and mental health.

○ Approaches by Life Cycle

- As characteristics by age were also shown in solitary death statistics, characteristics by life cycle should be considered to identify and respond to the cause of social isolation 

- Currently, the perspective of social isolation, solitude, seclusion prevention, and response in the welfare law for youth, youth, and the elderly is unclear and insufficient, and there is no legal basis for preparing policies for the middle-aged

○ Propulsion System

- Local governments are in charge of finding and supporting crisis households or welfare blind spots, including socially isolated households, and the central government collects information on finding crisis households and sends them to local governments, and plays a leading role in preventing and responding to loneliness, such as establishing and operating a response system for loneliness. 

- Although the discovery and support of socially isolated households, judgment and support for those at risk of dying alone will all be carried out at the local government level, the local government's discovery and support system is unclear in the Solitude Prevention Act, the head of the Si/Gun/Gu is excluded from the support measures for those at risk of dying alone, and there is no basis for promoting dedicated organizations and public-private cooperation.

○ Discovering and Supporting System for Subjects

- Currently, social isolation households are discovered according to the discovery of crisis households under the Social Security Benefit Act, the visiting health and welfare service team conducts door-to-door surveys, and excavations are being conducted at the Eup, Myeon, Dong Community Security Council, honorary social welfare officials, and social welfare centers.

- The Solitude Prevention Act stipulates the establishment of an early detection system for people at risk of dying alone, but there is no specific content, and in principle, personal information cannot be collected and used except for the head of a guarantee agency, so it is problematic if the party rejects it because it requires prior consent from the party to provide personal information to a third party.

○ Linkage with other systems

- When discovering socially isolated households, there is no procedure for connection with mental health services, despite the need for medical treatment or counseling from mental health welfare centers, and the rate of suicide among those who die alone is high, so it is also necessary to link them to suicide prevention policies. 

- The Act stipulates early detection, counseling, and treatment of persons at risk of dying alone, but no specific details are presented, and measures such as education and counseling for public officials or personnel at institutions that manage the risk of dying alone need to be implemented.

○ Follow-up management of solitary deaths 

- The Act defines matters necessary for the prevention and management of solitude and protects and supports persons at risk of loneliness from danger. Nevertheless, there is no regulation on the response or management of loneliness in the event of loneliness.

- It is necessary to prepare a basis for necessary procedures, such as funeral assistance, arrangement of articles, and special cleaning, not only until the stage of loneliness occurs, but also after the occurrence of loneliness.

▶ FGI Results 

○ (Purpose and Overview of Investigation) A focus group interview (FGI) will be conducted to derive the current system's operational status, problems, and improvement tasks for public officials and social welfare centers in charge of local governments with the aim of establishing a legal foundation to prevent and respond to social isolation. 

○ (Research Contents) Introduction of the project or policy, difficulties in the process of implementing the project or policy, social isolation prevention and response system evaluation and improvement tasks

○ (Introduction to implementation projects or policies) Local government officials refer to projects related to single-person households, projects to prevent lonely deaths, and projects to find blind spots for welfare. Workers of the implementation agency say that the projects for the elderly living alone, suicide prevention projects, and mental health promotion projects are related to socially isolated households.  

○ (Difficulties in the process of finding targets) Above all, the main difficulties are the difficulty of contacting themselves due to the refusal of the parties, discomfort over the stigma of being isolated, the existence of imaginary numbers in the information of crisis households, the necessity of an approach based on the characteristics of young, middle-aged, and elderly people, those who are subject to social isolation among the population entering rural areas, interest in the isolation of foreigners staying in Korea after the expiration of their visas, and the need for intervention measures when the parties' consent is rejected under the Personal Information Protection Act, lack of compensation for the use of residents or private organizations, and lack of standards and measures for social isolation.

○ (relationship with existing social welfare projects) Social isolation prevention projects overlap with projects to prevent loneliness, support single-person households, and search for welfare blind spots. Some local governments, such as Seoul, are emphasizing social isolation areas separately. 

○ (system for effective business performance) From the perspective of users, there is a need for a control tower to link case management or service provision details as necessary, and a dedicated organization, an integrated information system, education and manual for effective service linkage, and education to reinforce professional manpower or expertise for responding to mental health for isolated parties.

○ (related to public-private cooperation) Through regular integrated case meetings with local governments and welfare centers, public-private cooperation is also well established in finding and supporting targets. However, since it is the responsibility of the community center to resolve the needs of the subject in the cooperative relationship with the welfare center, it may overlap with the welfare center, and there are opinions that it is difficult to connect or cooperate with mental health welfare centers.

○ (Effectiveness and Problems of the Social Isolation Prevention and Response System) Many opinions are that although various project attempts and excavation systems are being formed, the completeness of the project system is not yet high due to insufficient public-private cooperation, social awareness of social isolation, and treatment of workers. Point out that the field of social isolation is not specialized, the grievances caused by the social perception of loneliness or isolation as the responsibility of public officials, and the absence of a system for protecting the employees in charge are pointed out.

○ (Improvements of related Legal System) Groups of local government officials generally agreed that there should be a legal basis for effective prevention and response to social isolation, and specifically suggested that measures or ordinance-style responses to loneliness and social isolation are more appropriate than separate laws. It is necessary to resolve overlapping situations with similar projects and to provide a legal basis for effective links, and at the central government level, it emphasizes the need for command through the provision of unified manuals for social isolation prevention projects, and education of public officials in charge and workers in performing organizations.

▶ Improvement of Legislation for Prevention and Response of Social Isolation 

○ First, a plan to amend the Act on the Prevention and Management of Solitary Deaths is proposed as follows: 

- To emphasize the need for prevention and response to 'social isolation' as a cause of loneliness, it is proposed to consider expanding the scope of the law from the current regulations on early detection systems and support measures for people at risk of loneliness to prevention and response to social isolation. 

- However, it is necessary to clarify the concept of social isolation when adding regulations on social isolation to the Act.

- Specifically, Article 6 (responsibility of the state and local governments) proposes measures to prevent social isolation and establish necessary policies in stages from preventing social isolation to finding and supporting social isolation households, early detection and response of people at risk of dying alone, identifying the status of dying alone, and post-management of dying alone.  

- To strengthen the role of local governments to establish an efficient promotion system and to revitalize public-private cooperation governance, the head of the Si/Gun/Gu shall be added to the main body of Article 14 (supporting measures for people at risk of dying alone), and governance shall be established to revitalize public-private cooperation, such as social isolation and death prevention councils, at the central government level. 

- The need to establish a basis for funeral support by local governments after the death of loneliness and to provide psychological and emotional support and protection systems for public officials in charge of loneliness and employees of performing institutions.

○ Second, the following system improvement measures are proposed in relation to understanding the actual state of social isolation.  

- Under the Act, a plan to shorten the survey cycle (5 years) and add the survey contents is proposed. 

- Emphasis is placed on the need to find ways to include social isolation or solitude in national-approved statistics agencies.

- In connection with the survey on the actual condition of loneliness, the interview method should be used in the in-depth investigation of the group at risk of loneliness, and representative statistics for each life cycle, minority vulnerable groups, and region should be released by expanding the size of the survey, and the need to secure basic data by utilizing the results of social isolation and loneliness surveys conducted by each local government or by building a DB or platform in the private sector was emphasized.

○ Third, it is suggested to expand the legal foundation in that an approach is needed according to the characteristics of each life cycle 

- Since social isolation can occur regardless of age, from adolescents, young people, middle-aged people, and old age, it is necessary to establish and implement policies based on the causes and characteristics of social isolation by age, suggesting measures to reflect the perspective of social isolation prevention in the social welfare legislation for each target.

○ Fourth, in terms of strengthening the organic connection with other systems, the following improvement measures are proposed. 

- In order to strengthen the connection with other social welfare programs (mental health promotion projects, suicide prevention policies, etc.), the "discovery and provision of necessary social welfare services" defined as one of the measures to support people at risk of dying alone is based on the premise of linkage or referral with other social welfare programs and policies.

○ Fifth, it suggested the need to raise policy interest in responding to loneliness.   

- Although social isolation and loneliness are distinct, it emphasizes the need to respond to loneliness in the long run, given that loneliness can cause and intensify social isolation and can develop into mental health problems. 

- The UK, Germany, Japan, and the United States also proposed policy development through research on loneliness by referring to cases in which they are actively responding at the national level by researching and improving awareness of loneliness or loneliness issues in addition to social isolation.

 

Ⅲ. Expected Effects

▶ Academic Contribution

○ Issues and overseas cases to be dealt with from a legal perspective on the prevention and response of social isolation can be used as basic data for related academic research by analyzing them from a comparative legal perspective and deriving implications for the relevant legal system and future improvement measures.

▶ Policy Contribution 

○ By analyzing domestic and foreign policies and legislation from the perspective of preventing and responding to social isolation, suggesting improvement measures such as clarifying the concept of social isolation, emphasizing the perspective of preventing social isolation, approaching life cycle, strengthening links with other policies, and emphasizing the need to respond to loneliness, contributing to the formulation and implementation of related policies in the future.