5. Elderly A. Human Rights Status 2022 The concept and definition of the elderly appear differently depending on the times and cultures or individual laws. In fact, changes and adjustments to the standards are being discussed not only in Korea but also in many countries. However, according to the definition of the International Association of Gerontology & Geriatrics, the elderly can be seen as ‘a person in a complex process in which physiological, psychological, and environmental changes and behavioral changes appearing in the human aging process interact.’ However, looking at the domestic legislation, each individual law or organization has different standards for the elderly. The ‘Welfare of Senior Citizens Act’ sets the age standards for entering the welfare house for senior citizens and the provision of prohibition of abuse differently as ‘seniors aged 60 or older’ or ‘seniors aged 65 or older,’ and the National Pension Act, the Human Rights Survey by the NHRCK and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency use 60 years of age as the standard for senior citizens. On the other hand, according to the ‘2022 Senior Population Statistics’ of the Statistics Korea, which was conducted with the people aged 65 or older, as the standard of elderly, the elderly population of Korea in 2022 is 17.5% (9,018,000) of the total. In the 2021 senior population statistics, the population aged 65 or older accounted for 16.5% (8,537,000 people) of the total population, and this confirms that Korea is currently heading toward a super-aged society at a very rapid pace.336) The perceptions and treatments toward the elderly are expressed in various ways depending on the conditions faced by each country and society and the degree of human rights that are protected. COVID-19, which has been prevalent since 2020, has had a great impact on the problems of living as an elderly person. It was reported that ageism has been strengthened throughout the world due to the nature of COVID-19, where age was an important factor in becoming a serious illness. The ‘Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 336) The UN classifies a society as an aging society if the proportion of the population aged 65 or older exceeds 7% of the total population, an aged society if it exceeds 14%, and a super-aged society if it exceeds 20%. 143