Seoul: Elderly dementia patients in South Korea hold assets worth a combined 153.5 trillion won (US$110.9 billion), which is equivalent to about 6.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), data showed Tuesday. The assets had been owned by 1.24 million dementia patients aged 65 and above as of 2023, according to the data compiled by the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the elderly dementia patients owned 33.4 trillion won worth of financial assets and 113.8 trillion won worth of real estate properties. The committee forecast the "dementia money" would surpass 488 trillion won by 2050, amounting to 15.6 percent of the GDP.

"Senior dementia patients make up only 2.4 percent of the total population, but the value of their assets accounts for 6.4 percent of the nation's GDP, indicating a disproportionately high concentration of wealth," the committee said. "The asset freeze caused by dementia will likely have a significant impact on the real economy," it added.

The committee plans to monitor annual changes in the "dementia money" and discuss policies aimed at improving the private and public trust systems, as well as the guardianship system for dementia patients.