Korea to grade regional governments on suicide prevention, offer financial incentives
In an effort to reduce the country's suicide rate, still the highest among OECD nations, the government will publicly rank regional authorities and reward those that make the most progress.
An SOS suicide prevention hotline phone is seen on Mapo Bridge in western Seoul on Sept. 10.NEWS1
The government finalized a plan on Monday to rank regional governments on suicide prevention and reward top performers, aiming to bring down a suicide rate that has been the highest among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries for most of the past two decades.
The sixth “master plan,” mandated under the Act on the Prevention of Suicide and the Creation of Culture of Respect for Life, consolidates and expands existing suicide prevention measures across nine policy areas.
Korea's suicide rate reached 29.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 2024, its highest level since 2012, before falling to 27.8 last year. The number of suicides declined 12.3 percent on year during the January to July period this year, but the country's suicide rate remains the highest among OECD members.
The new plan focuses on strengthening governmentwide suicide prevention efforts involving both central and regional authorities. It aims to reduce the suicide rate to 18.9 deaths per 100,000 people or lower by 2030, roughly two-thirds of the 2024 level.
“Suicide prevention is not the responsibility of any single ministry but a challenge that the entire government must take responsibility for addressing,” Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, who chairs the Suicide Prevention Policy Committee, said. “The government will closely examine the performance of regional governments and expand initiatives that have proved effective on the ground.”
A key priority is establishing a regionally driven suicide prevention system.
Under the plan, regional governments will be evaluated on their suicide rates and efforts to implement prevention policies. The government will publish the results and provide financial incentives, including monetary awards and funding for prevention programs, to high-performing regional authorities.
Prime Minister Han Seong-sook delivers opening remarks at a meeting of the Suicide Prevention Policy Committee at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Oct. 12.NEWS1
The measures are intended to encourage regional governments to take a more active role in suicide prevention.
“We will disclose evaluation data down to the city, county and district levels,” said Lee Sun-young, director-general of mental health policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “We are considering releasing not only on-year improvements in indicators such as suicide rates but also their absolute levels.”
The government will also strengthen systems to proactively identify and support people at high risk of suicide.
To that end, it will improve the collection and analysis of suicide-related data. The current classification system, which groups motives for suicide into seven broad categories, including mental health, financial difficulties and illness, will be expanded to 27 categories.
The government will also analyze these data alongside information such as National Health Insurance records and histories of social welfare benefit payments to better identify people in need of support.
It will develop AI-based models to predict suicide risks and use AI to assist with tasks currently performed by people, including monitoring online content that could encourage suicide.
“We are developing models that take a predictive approach rather than responding only after a large number of suicides have occurred,” Lee said.
Life preservers shaped like “109,” the suicide prevention hotline number, are seen floating on the Han River in Seoul in January 2025.YONHAP
The government will also strengthen mental health treatment services as part of its suicide prevention efforts.
Measures include designating essential emergency psychiatric care services, expanding psychiatric bed capacity and increasing financial assistance for medical treatment for people who have attempted suicide.
Additional policies will address underlying risk factors such as debt, poverty, social isolation and caregiving burdens.
However, reversing the persistent rise in suicides among teenagers and narrowing disparities in suicide prevention capabilities between central and regional governments remain major challenges.
Last year, the suicide rate among teenagers rose to 8.6 deaths per 100,000 people, making them the only age group to record an increase.
“Both the budget and policies dedicated to preventing teenage suicide remain insufficient,” said Hong Hyun-joo, a professor of psychiatry at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital.
“Adolescents have distinct needs that differ from those of adults, so we need to make suicide prevention education more effective and create an environment where they can comfortably seek advice from teachers and parents in their daily lives. We also need to make targeted investments in supporting treatment for mental health conditions.”
If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191 or the Crisis Counseling Center at 1577-0199. The Seoul Global Center offers English-language counseling, contact 02-2075-4180 (+1) to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
