By Lee Hyo-sik
A high-profile suicide by a middle-school student in Daegu two months ago has resulted in a steep rise of copycat suicides by fellow students in the southeastern city, putting parents, teachers and education officials there on high alert.
The Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education said Sunday that three middle and high school students in the city have killed themselves since Dec. 20, 2011 when a 14-year-old boy, identified as Kim, jumped from an apartment building to his death after enduring months of repeated beatings and insults by peers.
Another three elementary school students have attempted to take their own lives, citing poor academic performance and family feuds among other reasons.
“Following Kim’s death, we have seen more young students try to take their own life because of poor grades and other reasons. We suspect these were copycat suicides, known as the Werther Effect,” an official at the Daegu education office said.
The Werther Effect is an abnormal syndrome that arises when people feel the urge to kill themselves in ways similar to celebrities or other people.
In 2010, eight students committed suicide in Daegu, compared with nine in 2009. But this year’s number will likely be much higher than previous years, the official said.
“It is important to stop school violence. But it is equally as important to prevent suicides by young students. Parents, teachers and all of society should pay keen attention to the wellbeing of students.”
Earlier this month, the government announced a comprehensive package of measures to try and eradicate bullying in schools, empowering principals to suspend violent pupils and institute an alert system for organized student gangs.
Other steps include tougher punishment for teachers covering up cases of bullying and hazing along with quicker intervention by police officers to protect victims.
Such moves came after Kim killed himself from months of being brutally bullied by classmates.