Elderly couple's reunion after husband with dementia goes missing warms hearts

Reports of missing people with dementia rise 14.4 percent on-year

An elderly couple’s emotional reunion after a man with dementia went missing in central Seoul has touched hearts online.

Footage released by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency showed the elderly man who, having apparently lost his way, sat alone on a bench in a street in Jung-gu on the morning of Sept. 17.

Around the same time, his wife visited a nearby police station to report her husband missing, explaining that he had dementia.

Using details provided by the wife, including her husband’s physical appearance and where he had been headed, police retraced his movements and eventually found him.

Surveillance footage shows an elderly couple holding hands after being reunited at a police station in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on Sept. 17. (Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)

Street surveillance footage shows a man with dementia sitting on a bench in Jung-gu, central Seoul, on Sept. 17. (Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)

The footage shows officers approaching the man gently, taking care not to startle him. After checking his condition, they escorted him to the police station.

There, the couple was reunited. Overcome with relief and emotion, they struggled to find words as they clasped each other’s hands tightly, according to reports.

The couple thanked the officers for their help before leaving the station, still holding hands.

Reports of missing people with dementia reached 10,776 in the January-July period of 2026, up 14.4 percent from 9,416 a year earlier, according to data from the National Police Agency. The number of people with dementia is rising rapidly as South Korea’s population ages.

Approximately 970,000 people aged 65 and older were living with dementia last year. The figure is projected to surpass 1 million by the end of this year, according to government estimates.