Anchor: New data finds that the average life expectancy for South Koreans is 82-point-seven years, or around two years longer than the average for member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more. 

Report: Statistics Korea said Monday that South Korean babies born last year can expect to live past an average of 82-point-seven years of age. That’s up point-three years from 2016 and up three-and-a-half years from a decade ago.

Life expectancy for South Koreans was longer than the average for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) member states by one-point-seven years for boys and two-point-four years for girls. Out of the 36 member states, South Korean girls ranked third and boys 15th in terms of life expectancy. 

The life expectancy was 79-point-seven years for boys and 85-point-seven years for girls, resulting in a gender gap of six years, down point-one year from 2016. 

Since hitting a peak of eight-point-six years in 1985, the gap has been narrowing every year. 

The statistics agency said cancer was the biggest factor attributed to a reduction in life expectancy. 

The agency said around 27 percent of boys and some 16 percent of girls born last year are at risk of dying of cancer. Heart disease was cited as the second most probable cause of death followed by pneumonia.

In particular, the likelihood of boys born last year dying of pneumonia stood at nine-and-a-half percent and at eight-point-seven percent for girls, up six percentage points from ten years ago. It's the first time the disease was cited as the third biggest cause of death for Koreans. 

The surge in the risk from pneumonia is attributed to the rapid growth in the nation's elderly population.

The agency also found that by region, Seoul ranked top in terms of life expectancy with 84-point-one followed by Gyeonggi Province with 83-point-one. North Chungcheong Province and South Gyeongsang Province ranked at the bottom with 81-point-nine.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.