(ANN/THE KOREA HERALD) – Last year, suicide fatalities in South Korea hit the highest level in 13 years, a local suicide prevention agency reported on Wednesday.
As per initial data from the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention (KFSP), there were 14,439 reported suicide cases in 2024, resulting in a daily average of 39.5.
It marked the highest count since 2011, when the figure came to 15,906.
In 2024, the suicide rate, representing the number of suicides for every 100,000 South Koreans, reached 28.3, marking the highest point since 2013.
Of the total cases last year, 10,341 were men, while the remaining 4,098 were women.
By age, those in their 50s accounted for 21 per cent of the total, followed by 19 per cent in their 40s, 16.5 per cent in their 60s and 13.4 per cent in their 30s, according to the KFSP.
The official data by Statistics Korea for last year will be available in September.
In 2023, the statistics agency reported 13,978 fatalities by suicide in the country.
South Korea had the highest suicide rate among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member nations based on the 2021 data, with 24.3 out of every 100,000 people.
Lithuania came next with 18.5, and Slovenia with 15.7 deaths, the agency said.
