By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

The government plans to introduce measures to combat the disgrace of the nation holding the highest suicide rate among OECD countries, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said Sunday.

Roughly 10 government ministries and offices are mapping out measures to prevent suicides, the ministry said.

The final blueprint, after consultation with related agencies, including the Office of the Prime Minister, is expected to be unveiled to the public by Sept. 10, World Suicide Prevention Day.

Considering financial difficulty, pain triggered by disease and an old age tend to lead people to commit suicide, the current draft contains long-term policies on health and welfare, government officials said.

It particularly focuses on strengthening the social and economic safety net for those in the low-income bracket and the aged, they said.

As short-term measures, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is seeking to establish more screen doors at subway stations to prevent people from committing suicide by jumping in front of trains.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to regulate purchases of poison pesticides in a bid to reduce the number of suicides.

Web sites encouraging suicide are also considered a major target.

The presidential Communications Commission is reportedly working on ways to block these Web sites.

Ministries are expected to submit the draft to the Prime Minister's Office on Sept. 3 for final approval.

According to the OECD's 2006 report on health, South Korea had the highest suicide rate of 21.5 out of every 100,000 people, almost double that of other member countries.

Hungary, Japan and Finland followed in the list, with 21, 19.1 and 18 people, respectively.

According to the health ministry, the growing number of single-parent families and social and economic burdens tend to incite people to kill themselves.

It is necessary to spread respect for life to prevent suicide, he added.

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr