Thirty-six South Koreans committed suicide per day last year on average, and the rate is continuing to surge amid the country's slowing economy, tight labor market and sweeping socioeconomic changes, a ruling party lawmaker said Thursday.

Rep. Lim Doo-sung of the ruling Grand National Party said a total of 13,407 people killed themselves last year, an increase of 439 people from 2006, according to Yonhap News.

Up to 56 percent of suicides were committed by the jobless, with the female suicide rate posting a 19-percent rise between 2003 and 2007, Lim said, citing police statistics.

Suicides now stand as the No. 4 cause of deaths in South Korea. South Korea's suicide rate has been the highest in the 30-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since 2005.

An average of 25 out of every 100,000 people kill themselves in South Korea, followed by Hungary (22.6 persons), Japan (20.3 persons) and Belgium (18.4 persons).

"The increasing suicides in Korea have become a pan-national issue which the government must tackle with more strategic plans," Lim told Yonhap News Agency.

Lim plans to submit a motion next month to enact a law on suicide prevention.