The suicide rate in South Korea, which has consistently been the highest in the industrialized world, climbed marginally from the previous year as a sign of the epidemic’s continuing effects.
According to data made public by the nation’s national statistics agency on Tuesday, there were almost 13,300 suicides in Korea, or 26 fatalities for every 100,000 people. The percentage has risen from its level of 25.7 in 2020, which was already the highest among the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) membership.
According to current data, Korea’s suicide rate increased in 2017, breaking its previous record for having the lowest fertility rate in the world. These issues have been the focus of policymakers’ efforts, which have had a mixed record of success and reveal the socioeconomic issues that underlie one of Asia’s most prosperous economies.
A failing economy and an increase in suicides are related, even if the two things don’t happen at the same time, in accordance with research done by Song Min-kee, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Finance. The unemployment rate once rose to its highest level since 1999, even as the economy started to emerge from the deep recession it had experienced the year prior.
The number of people worried that the economy may experience a recession has increased this year. In an additional effort to slow the rate of inflation, the Federal Reserve has been increasing interest rates. As a result, both households and enterprises’ financial positions have
According to many analysts, other factors contributing to Korea’s high suicide rate include the pressure inherent in the nation’s educational and working environments, the stigma attached to seeking depression therapy, and the lack of social protections for the elderly.
