Suicide leading cause of death for young Seoulites

By Lee Kyung-min

Suicide was the leading cause of death last year for Seoul residents between the ages of 10 and 39, a survey showed Wednesday.

According to the survey, conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), a total of 42,063 people died in the city last year. Suicide was responsible for slightly more than 35 percent of deaths among teenagers, with the figure reaching 51.6 percent for 20-somethings. Suicide accounted for 39.7 percent of deaths among people in their 30s.

Meanwhile, for people aged 40 or over, cancer was the leading cause of death.

Out of 2,456 deaths of people in their 40s, about a third (32 percent) died of cancer. About 40 percent of people in their 50s, and 48.8 percent of people in their 60s died of the disease.

Overall, the death rate in Seoul has increased as well. About 420 out of 100,000 people died last year, up 45 from last year’s 375.

In a separate study by the National Youth Policy Institute (NYPI) in January, some 37 percent of the respondents aged 13 to 18 said they had thought about committing suicide.

Forty percent said that this was because of pressure from studying, while 27 percent said it was because of family conflicts.