[News Today] ‘Dementia money’ easy crime target

[LEAD]
In South Korea, the lifetime assets of dementia patients are often called "dementia money." Estimated at over 150 trillion won, much of it is left unmanaged and becomes an easy target for crime. Managing "dementia money" is now a key challenge in the country's super-aged society.

[REPORT]
This man found out that several hundreds of millions of won or tens of thousands of dollars were withdrawn from his mother's bank account last year. His mother is suffering from dementia.

A relative is assumed to have taken the money, but the son must go through a complex lawsuit to get it back.

Guardian of a Dementia Patient / (VOICE MODIFIED)
The money was taken out while she was in a nursing home. Mother kept repeating why the money was given to them.

There was a case in which a bank employee secretly closed a dementia patient's savings account to steal the money.

It's difficult for the families to find out such irregularities immediately.

Unless they obtain the power of attorney in advance, they have no legal authority to manage their parents' assets.

Jang ○○ / Guardian of a Dementia Patient (VOICE MODIFIED)
How can a bed-ridden person withdraw money? I visited the nursing home and asked around for a month before discovering the crime.

When a person is already diagnosed with dementia, a court-appointed adult guardian can manage the patient's assets.

However, it takes up to over a year to go through the process of submitting a written diagnosis and court review, which allows enough time for a dementia patient's assets to be stolen.

Guardian of a Dementia Patient / (VOICE MODIFIED)
An adult guardian needs to prepare lots of documents for the process. So, there's enough time for someone to hide the money.

Also, not a lot of people are willing to become a guardian since they're only paid some 200,000 won, about 145 U.S. dollars, per month.

Another choice is the optional guardianship system in which a guardian can be appointed in advance before a person is diagnosed with dementia.

Prof. Chung Soon-dool / Ewha Womans University
When I'm not able to make sound decisions, someone can become my guardian to manage my assets and supervise my spending.

Dementia patients' personal funds are expected to flow into society when a public trust system which allows the government or a public organization to manage dementia patients' assets is introduced.

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