About 150 teens commit suicide a year

By Kim Tae-jong

Each year nearly 150 primary and secondary school students take their own lives, a report highlighting the recent trend showed Sunday.

The number of suicides by primary and secondary students stood at 146 in 2010, 202 in 2009 and 137 in 2008, according to Statistics Korea. The main reasons are family discord and failure to adapt properly to school life.

To combat the high suicide rate among the young students the government Sunday announced it plans to establish a suicide prevention committee especially for primary and secondary school students.

“The committee will actively tackle the issue of suicide among students,” an official from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) said. “We think a lot of students suffer from depression and violence at school which leads them to go to extremes. Through the committee we will monitor the mental health of students and take appropriate steps to prevent them from committing suicide.”

Schools and education offices will set up a suicide prevention committee, made up of five to 10 members consisting of the principal, parents, teachers and counselors. It will also include rescue experts, police officers, psychiatrists and lawyers as advisors, the official said.

The ministry will also hold a session and offer education on suicide prevention to some 12,000 teachers and staff at education offices nationwide from April 11 to 28.