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Korea is expected to spend around 6 trillion won ($4.6 billion) this year on treating diseases related to aging such as dementia, marking a 28 percent increase over the past five years, government data showed Wednesday.

As the nation has become a super-aged society, with 20 percent of its population aged 65 or older as of last November, the number of people in this age group covered by health insurance and medical benefits has also surpassed 10 million.

According to National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) data submitted to Rep. Kim Mi-ae of the ruling People Power Party, about 5.6 trillion won was spent to treat 24 types of age-related diseases in 2023.

The figure is 19.3 percent higher than what was spent for that purpose in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notably, the cost of treating age-related diseases already reached 2.9 trillion won in the first half of 2024 and the NHIS estimates the total to have climbed to around 6 trillion won by the end of the year, reflecting a 28 percent increase over the past five years.

The number of patients receiving treatment for age-related diseases also increased by 16 percent over four years, rising from 2 million in 2019 to 2.3 million in 2023. The figure was around 1.8 million in the first half of last year.

As the older adult population continues to grow amid the country's declining birthrate, the number of people aged 65 or older who receive health insurance benefits also exceeded 10 million for the first time last November.

The population under medical insurance includes people enrolled in health insurance and the low-income population receiving assistance for medical expenses.

As of last June, 9.4 million people aged 65 or older were enrolled in state health insurance. When the population of low-income recipients and those receiving medical benefits in the same age group is included, the total figure exceeds 10 million.

The number of people aged 65 or older enrolled in state health insurance stood at 6.94 million in 2016, marking a 46 percent increase over the previous eight years.

"We need to properly prepare a comprehensive system of long-term care services for older patients so that they can receive sufficient and diverse types of care safely in a super-aged society," Rep. Kim said.

Korea will be the country that spends the most in the world on elderly care by 2070, according to Statistics Korea's 2022 analysis.

Amid the country's rapid aging pace, Korea's population aged 65 or older will take some 46.4 percent of the total population in 50 years, making one working-age person support one elderly person.