By Lee Hyo-sik
An 89-year-old man, identified only by his surname Kim, jumped off a five-story building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, to his death on March 22.
The police concluded that Kim, suffering a chronic back problem, took his own life based on the bereaved family’s testimony. The senior citizen had often said he did not want to be a burden to his children, according to the family.
On March 3, a 77-year-old woman, identified by her last name Lee, committed suicide by drinking a bottle of liquid pesticide in Inje, Gangwon Province, after telling her son on the phone that she wanted to die because she did not want to become a liability to her children.
According to Lee’s bereaved family, she often said she wanted to die while struggling with asthma and other chronic illnesses.
Like Kim and Lee, a growing number of senior citizens over 65 here are taking their own lives due to health problems, financial hardship and family feuds among other reasons.
Lee Sun-young, manager of the elderly suicide prevention center, affiliated with Seodaemun District Office in Seoul, said an increasing number of senior citizens have called the center seeking assistance.
``The elderly do not say explicitly that they want to take own lives as they are reluctant to express their emotions. But when we talk with them, we know many of them are seriously considering committing suicide,’’ she said.
Lee said there are a wide range of issues driving the elderly to contemplate killing themselves.
``Some of them are struggling with financial difficulties. Others are suffering from chronic illnesses or are having issues with their offspring. We listen to their problems first. Then we do our best to console them and encourage them to live on,’’ Lee said.
Lee So-chung, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, said the number of elderly suicides has jumped sharply since 2000, adding more male senior citizens tend to take own lives.
``There is an array of factors behind the sharp rise in the elderly suicides. The extended family structure has largely been dismantled, leaving senior citizens less cared for. Many more are financially ill-prepared for life after retirement while the average life expectancy of Koreans has been on the rise,’’ she said.
The average life expectancy for Koreans stood at 80.5 years in 2009, up sharply from 65.7 years in 1980, Statistics Korea said.
According to a recent study by Hallym Medical School, the number of people over 65 who committed suicide per 100,000 people stood at 77 in 2009, up significantly from 14.3 in 1990.
In the past, families used to be responsible for supporting parents and grandparents. But following the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and other drastic social and economic changes here over the past two decades, neither the family nor the government has assumed a primary role of providing for senior citizens, Lee said.
``In order to prevent the elderly from committing suicide, the government should build up an extensive support infrastructure, including suicide prevention centers, to help troubled senior citizens,” the research fellow said. It should also set up a monitoring system at hospitals and ward offices to detect signs of trouble among senior citizens and discourage them from taking extreme measures, Lee added.
``We should save enough for life after retirement and build up an extensive human network and acquire hobbies. The government should also provide individuals with consulting services about how to get ready for post-retirement life,’’ he concluded.