Suicide Deaths in Korea and Their Policy Implications

Abstract

Suicide is the result of a complex interplay not only of an individual’s biological, cognitive, and psycho-emotional characteristics but also of various systems surrounding the individual. Therefore, policy efforts aimed at addressing the issue of suicide must build on analyses of individual suicides’ characteristics and the characteristics and effects of relevant systems. This study’s analytical focus is on the individual characteristics of suicides, including sex, age group, economic status, and physical and mental health. Korea has relatively high suicide rates for both men and women, with the suicide sex ratio lower than in other comparable countries. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the suicide rate for people in their teens and twenties. Suicide rates in Korea are high for individuals with lower economic status or those whose economic status declined. Higher suicide rates are associated with individuals who have undergone hospital treatments, physical or mental. These characteristics of individual suicides must be incorporated into suicide prevention measures, with a view to making Korea a society safe from suicide.