Celebrity deaths spark concern over South Korea's suicide rate

The recent deaths of two South Korean female stars has cast the spotlight on the country's alarming suicide rate, with experts warning that a wave of copycat deaths might follow.

Jeong Da-Bin

A portrait of South Korean actress Jeong Da-Bin, 27, is set up at a hospital morgue in Seoul [AFP Lim Dong-Eui]

SEOUL - Actress Jeong Da-Bin and pop singer Yuni, two high-profile young women with successful careers, were both found hanged in the past few weeks, sparking concern in South Korea, which has the highest suicide rate of all Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members.

Police said Saturday Jeong, 27, had been found dead in the bathroom of her boyfriend's apartment in Seoul, having apparently succumbed to a bout of depression over a recent shortage of work.

Her case was startlingly similar to that of Yuni, who was found hanged in her home in Incheon City on January 21. Her death shocked fans, who were waiting for the release of her third album.

"I am worried that a wave of copycat suicides might follow among youths," said Na Sun-Young of Lifeline Korea, which provides a telephone counselling service aimed at preventing suicides.

"Following the death of Yuni, I received many calls from young people who said they themselves were thinking about committing suicide. They were saying they had to die because even someone as beautiful as Yuni could not stand it and committed suicide," she said.

She noted that in March 2005, a wave of copycat suicides hit South Korea in the month after 24-year-old film star Lee Eun-Joo took her own life.

South Korea's suicide rate has more than doubled in the past decade, from 11.8 per 100,000 people in 1995 to 26.1 per 100,000 in 2005, and on average 38 people a day take their own lives, official records show.

The National Statistics Office attributes the high suicide rate to economic hardship in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis.

Concern about the high suicide rate has led to a bill aimed at providing counselling and medical treatment for potential victims being introduced to parliament for approval.

Oh Seung-Geun, a researcher at the state-financed Korea Institute for Youth Development, said suicide was the biggest cause of death among men in their twenties, but was often hidden.

"I think the reality is much more serious than is reported," he said.

Experts say young people can develop more permissive attitudes to suicide as a result of the glorification of victims and their deaths. Media coverage of high-profile deaths is also to blame, they believe.

"Sadness and sympathy overwhelm reason in this kind of atmosphere," said Oh, adding that surveys showed many young Koreans believe they have the right to take their own lives.

The deaths of Yuni and Jeong also highlighted the potentially harmful effects of cyber attacks on celebrities. Both had reportedly suffered such attacks on their Internet sites.

"Many Internet users, taking advantage of anonymity, have made a hobby of writing malicious messages on websites, accusing celebrities of sex scandals or (having) plastic surgery," Oh said.

"Measures must be taken to curb this undesirable phenomenon."