By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter
Suicides at subway tracks have been on a steady rise.
So far this year, a total of 22 people committed suicide by jumping on subway tracks in Seoul and the metropolitan area, according to Seoul Metro and Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, or about four people a month on average.
The number is a 30 percent increase from the same period last year. In 2006, the figure stood at 34.
The most recent suicide occurred around 2 p.m. on June 17 when a man in his 30s threw himself onto the subway track at Gunja station on subway line 5. This month alone, five people have killed themselves on subway tracks.
The number sharply increased from 21 in 2000 to 52 in 2003 when Korea was suffering from serious economic difficulties. The number, which decreased to 34 in 2004, rose again to 41 in 2005 and is expected to surpass 40 this year.
The subway station with the largest number of suicide accidents from 2000 to June of this year was Guui Station on subway line 2 with six people.
Subway line 1’s Noryangjin and Songnae stations, line 5’s Kkachisan and Gunja Station, and Line 4’s Hansung University Station are also known as places with frequent suicides with five each. All of these stations are known for a quiet atmosphere with a relatively small number of passengers. They are also located in residential area where laborers or low incomers are concentrated.
According to the analysis by subway agencies, most of those who gave up their lives were jobless or had economic hardships. Most of them were in their 20s to 40s and men outnumbered women. Out of 301 subway suicides from 2003 to 2005, 70 percent were jobless and 216 were men, three times the number of women, which stood at 85.
Experts say that screen doors and a lively atmosphere in stations can play a vital role in preventing suicides.
``Although screen doors cannot block every suicide attempt, they can help people change their mind and become hesitant about committing suicide,’’ said Nam Yoon-young, a doctor at Seoul National Hospital. ``Making the interior or atmosphere of subway stations more lively or light is also important in lessening the number of incidents.’’
The Increasing number of suicides at subways also leaves irreversible trauma to train drivers, which is emerging as a serious social problem, according to Kim Hae-gon, a subway expert.