Helping to save lives

Editor's note: In this weekly feature China Daily gives voice to Asia and its people. The stories presented come mainly from the Asia News Network (ANN), of which China Daily is among its 20 leading titles.

The Seoul metropolitan government on Oct 28 introduced a set of measures — including increasing the staff of its 24-hour call center for people struggling with suicidal impulses — to halve its current suicide rate by 2030.

It aims to shift its current suicide prevention policy, from currently solely focusing on high-risk groups, to addressing the broader public.

"We want to shift the focus of our policy to a more comprehensive approach that empowers our citizens to take care of their mental health in their daily lives, while also reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation, and minimizing the risk of suicide in return," Kim Tae-hee, head of the municipal citizens' health bureau, said in a news briefing.

"The plan is to implement a proactive, robust approach to prevent suicidal thoughts from ever occurring," Kim said.

South Korea has held the highest suicide rate among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, since 2003. It recorded an uptick in suicide cases last year, reversing a short-lived downward trend.

According to the country's Statistics Korea agency, 13,978 people took their own lives last year, which translates to 27.3 deaths per 100,000 people. This marks an 8.5 percent increase from the 2022 figure of 25.2 deaths.

The increase follows a one-year decline between 2021 and 2022, when the rate dropped from 26 to 25.2.

The figures indicate that suicide ranked as the fifth most common cause of death in South Korea, constituting 4 percent of all deaths. Cancer topped the list, accounting for 24.2 percent.

But it was the number one cause of death for those aged 10-19, and in their 20s and 30s. Among people in their 20s, 52.7 percent of deaths were suicides, followed by those aged 10-19 at 46.1 percent, and the 30-somethings at 40.2 percent. For people in their 40s and 50s, suicide was the second leading cause of death, following cancer.

The highest increase in the suicide rate was observed among those in their 60s, with a 13.6 percent rise. The second biggest increase was among those in their 50s with 12.1 percent, while teenagers followed closely behind at 10.4 percent.

In a separate dataset from the 38-member OECD, South Korea topped the chart with 24.8 deaths per 100,000 people last year, more than double the OECD average of 10.7.