Suicide in South Korea

Suicide in South Korea occurs at the 12th highest rate in the world. South Korea has the highest recorded suicide rate in the OECD.^[3][4][5] In South Korea, it is estimated to affect 0.02 percent of the population by the WHO. In 2012, suicide was the fourth-highest cause of death.^[6] The suicide rate has consistently declined between 2012 and 2019, the year when the latest data are available.

The high recorded suicide rates compared to other countries in the developed world are exacerbated by the prevalence of suicide among the elderly. One factor of suicide among elderly South Koreans is due to the amount of relative poverty among senior citizens in South Korea, even though it has been consistently declining since 2011. Combined with a poorly-funded social safety net for the elderly, this can result in them dying by suicide to not be a financial burden on their families, since the traditional social structure in which children looked after their parents in their old age has largely disappeared in the 21st century.^[7][8]

As a result, people living in rural areas tend to have higher suicide rates. This is due to self-reported high rates of elderly discrimination, especially when applying for jobs, with 85.7% of those in their 50s self-reporting discrimination.^[9] Age discrimination also directly correlates to suicide, on top of influencing poverty rates.^[10] Suicide is the number one cause of death among South Koreans aged 10 to 39.^[11][12] This is in line with most OECD countries.

Proactive government efforts to decrease the rate have shown effectiveness in 2014, when there were 27.3 suicides per 100,000 people, a 4.1% decline from the previous year (28.5 people) and the lowest in six years since 2008's 26.0 people.^[13][14]