A total of 1,961 applicants for government-arranged reunions passed away between January and August, raising the total number of such deaths to 96,352. As of late August, around 134,160 people had registered with the unification ministry for family reunion events.
Of the surviving registrants, 37,806 were still alive at the end of last month, with 66.5% aged 80 or older.
Separated families in South Korea have not had any exchanges with their relatives in North Korea at either the government or civilian levels for more than a year due to strained inter-Korean relations. Since the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, the two Koreas have held 21 rounds of separated family reunions. The last such event took place in August 2018.
To commemorate the second Separated Families Day, the government plans to hold a ceremony later in the day to offer solace to divided families. Last year, South Korea designated August 13 on the lunar calendar as a commemorative day for separated families, reflecting their desire to reunite around the Chuseok fall harvest holiday. Chuseok, which falls on August 15 on the lunar calendar, is one of the country's two largest traditional holidays.
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