The alcohol-related death rate among women reached 3.1 per 100,000 people in 2025, up from 2.4 in 2015, according to the National Data Office. The increase was particularly pronounced among women in their 50s, whose rate rose to 6.6 from 4.3 over the same period.
High-risk drinking among women has also increased. The rate among women aged 19 and older stood at 8.6 percent in 2024, up from 6.6 percent in 2014. High-risk drinking is defined as consuming at least five drinks per occasion for women, or seven for men, at least twice a week.
The trend is part of a broader shift in South Korea's drinking patterns. A Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency analysis released in July found that high-risk drinking declined among men across all age groups over the past decade but increased among women in every age group from their 30s upward. Women in their 20s to 40s also recorded relatively high levels of binge and high-risk drinking.
The KDCA found that smoking, depression and perceived stress were among the factors associated with a greater likelihood of high-risk drinking, although the analysis covered adults overall rather than women alone. Smokers were 2.6 times more likely than nonsmokers to report high-risk drinking.
A government report on South Korea's progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals also pointed to longer-term social changes that may help explain the rise in drinking among women, including greater workforce participation, changing gender roles and stress from work and child care. The report also cited growing exposure to positive portrayals of drinking in media.
Men still recorded higher levels of alcohol-related deaths and high-risk drinking, but both have declined over the longer term. The male high-risk drinking rate fell to 18.6 percent in 2024 from 20.7 percent in 2014.
The changing drinking patterns come as the financial burden of alcohol- and smoking-related illnesses grows.
Medical spending linked to drinking and smoking reached 8.48 trillion won ($6.24 billion) in 2025, up 28.2 percent from 6.61 trillion won in 2021, according to National Health Insurance Service data obtained by Rep. Nam In-soon.
Alcohol-related treatment costs topped 4 trillion won for the first time last year, reaching 4.04 trillion won, while smoking-related costs stood at 4.44 trillion won. Combined spending over the five years from 2021 through 2025 reached 37.35 trillion won.
The data do not identify a single reason for the increase, but much of the burden is concentrated among older Koreans. People aged 60 and above accounted for 64.2 percent of alcohol-related medical costs and 76.5 percent of smoking-related costs last year.
Overall health insurance medical spending also rose 7.6 percent in 2025, suggesting that population aging and broader growth in medical spending are part of the backdrop to the rising costs.
AJP Takeaways
- Alcohol-related deaths among South Korean women have risen over the past decade, alongside higher rates of high-risk drinking.
- Recent data link high-risk drinking to factors including smoking, stress and depression, while women in their 30s and older have seen increases.
- Medical costs tied to drinking and smoking reached 8.48 trillion won in 2025, with older Koreans accounting for most of the burden.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
