The nation’s central and local governments have discussed ways to support people at high risk of suicide, as the suicide rate is set to post growth for the second consecutive year.

Second vice health minister Park Min-soo held a meeting on suicide prevention and related projects with the heads of the country’s 17 local governments on Tuesday.
 
At the meeting, the health ministry again informed the local governments of the measures it devised in December to provide extensive support to people at high risk of suicide, including those who have attempted to take their own lives and people who have lost loved ones to suicide.

A 2013 fact-finding survey on suicides and a 2022 psychological autopsy report found that the suicide rate for people who had previously tried to take their lives was around 25 times higher than that of the general population, while the rate for suicide survivors was roughly ten times greater. 

The central government and local governments plan to strengthen services for people who have attempted suicide and constantly follow up if they refuse help or cannot be reached. 

For people who have lost loved ones to suicide, the governments will expand the number of cities and provinces that provide one-stop support services, from last year’s nine to 12 this year. 

Such services include providing temporary housing, cleaning, and handling administrative and legal paperwork.

According to the ministry, the number of suicides in the nation reached 13-thousand-271 between January and November of last year. 

Given that the rate has grown by more than one-thousand monthly, total suicides for 2024 are likely to exceed the 2023 figure of 13-thousand-978.