Objectives: This study aimed to examine how the relationship between socioeconomic factors at the macro level and suicide mortality rate of Korea was different from that of other OECD countries. Methods: We created OECD panel data of 29 OECD countries from 1985 to 2006 and analyzed the relationship between socioeconomic factors and suicide mortality rate for separate age and sex groups using a fixed-effect model. Economic factors included per capita GDP, per capita GDP growth rate, unemployment rate, and women"s economic participation rate. Social factors included birth rate, alcohol consumption, and the percentage of population 65 and older. Results: Unemployment rate had a positive relationship with suicide in other countries but it had a negative relationship in some groups of Korea. Women"s economic participation rate was both positively and negatively related with suicide in Korea but it did not relate to suicide in others. The negative relationship of birth rate and the positive relationship of alcohol consumption with suicide were evident in Korea, which were not found in other countries. The percentage of population 65 and older was negatively correlated in some female groups in Korea, while no significant relationship was found in other countries. Conclusions: Korea was substantially different from other OECD countries in the relationship between socioeconomic factors and suicide mortality rate.
