South Korea registered its deadliest year for suicides in more than a decade in 2024, with close to 14,439 people taking their lives. It is the highest figure since 2011, despite attempts to lower the national suicide rate.

As per Yonhap News, stats from last year show that an average of around 40 people a day took their own lives.

The Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation and Statistics Korea noted that the overall suicide rate also hit an 11-year high, at 28.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 residents.

These worrisome stats reflect a complete reverse of the trend we have seen in the last decade.

The figure had been hovering near 13,000 for the previous six years, even falling below that number in 2017 and 2022. In fact, it dramatically increased in 2023 and did not stop until the following year.

This data indicated that more than twice as many men die by suicide as women, at 10,341 and 4,098, respectively. This rise was most pronounced for men aged 30-50 and during the first quarter of the year.

Specialists have said the increased coverage by the media of suicides involving celebrities would also have played a part in the increase, which they also attributed in part to the recession, an aging population, and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The South Korean government is implementing new plans to meet this crisis by cutting the nation's suicide rate in half over the next decade.

Officials gathered in January with representatives from all 17 provinces and cities to discuss specific assistance for such high-risk groups as prior suicide attempters and their families.

Concerns mounted over South Korea's ability to tackle this escalating crisis, with suicides rising for the second year in a row.

The final statistics, which will be released in September, will give a clearer picture of the extent of the issue and the success of existing preventative action.