By Park Si-soo
Seoul City will install telephones on bridges crossing the Han River in anticipation that people attempting to commit suicide there would think twice via last-minute calls.
Eight fixed-line telephones will be set up on Mapo and Hannam bridges by June, the two bridges that ranked the first and third most “popular” places to jump to one’s death, city officials said. “This is to prevent depressed people from committing suicide by relieving their impulse to kill themselves through talking with others on the phone,” said a city official.
He also said the phones will also facilitate witnesses to report suicide attempts to the police. The city plans to install phones on other bridges if they prove effective in preventing suicides.
This project is sponsored by Life Insurance Philanthropy Foundation, Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, and Life Line, an anti-suicide NGO.