Cancer remains Korea’s leading cause of death as overall fatalities rise

Cancer, heart disease and pneumonia were among the key causes of death for Koreans in 2025, data showed Tuesday, with suicide remaining the top factor among those in their 40s and younger.

Last year, the total number of deaths reported in the country came to 362,968, up 1.2 percent from 2024, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. 

The ministry said 712.6 deaths were reported per 100,000 Koreans last year, also up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

The report showed that cancer accounted for 24.9 percent of total deaths in 2025, followed by heart disease at 9.4 percent and pneumonia at 8.5 percent. The three factors were responsible for more than 42 percent of total deaths.

Suicide, meanwhile, stood as the fifth-biggest cause of death for Koreans at 4.1 percent.

A total of 14,144 people took their own lives last year, down 4.9 percent from a year earlier.

It remained the main cause of death for people aged between 10 and 49 in Korea in 2025 and the second-biggest cause of death for those in their 50s.

Yonhap