2.75 million deaths from chronic diseases last year...Medical expenses increased to 90 trillion won.

Last year, 275,000 people died from chronic diseases, accounting for 78.1% of all deaths.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that due to the increase in the elderly population, chronic disease treatment costs also increased to 90 trillion won last year, up 9.2% from 2022.

This is equivalent to 84.5% of the total medical expenses last year.

Cancer was the most common cause of death by chronic disease at 24.2%, followed by heart disease at 9.4%, cerebrovascular disease at 6.9%, followed by Alzheimer's disease (3.2%), diabetes (3.1%), and hypertension disease (2.3%).

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the burden of death and disease from chronic diseases is on the rise, and it is developing strategies to reduce the burden of chronic diseases in line with the entry of a super-aged society.