Number of suicides in Korea hits 13-year high in 2024

This photo shows a hospital in Seoul, Sept. 3, 2024. Yonhap

Korea saw the highest number of suicides in 13 years in 2024, with suicide becoming the major cause of death among those in their 40s and younger.

Last year, the total number of deaths reported in the country came to 358,569, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea.

The agency said 702.6 deaths were reported per 100,000 Koreans last year, also up 1.9 percent from a year earlier.

The report showed that cancer accounted for 24.8 percent of total deaths in 2024, followed by heart disease at 9.4 percent and pneumonia at 8.4 percent. The three factors were responsible for more than 42 percent of total deaths.

Suicide, meanwhile, stood as the fifth-biggest cause of death for Koreans at 4.1 percent.

A total of 14,872 people took their own lives last year, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier. The figure translates into 29.1 suicides for every 100,000 Koreans, the highest mark since 2011.

Suicide remained the main cause of death for people aged between 10 and 49 in Korea in 2024, and the second-biggest cause of death for those in their 50s.

It marked the first time suicide was the No. 1 reason of death among 40-something-year-olds.

Korea currently holds the highest suicide rate among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which stood at 26.2 for every 100,000 people in 2024, far higher than the OECD average of 10.8.

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide, contact Korea's Suicide Crisis hotline at 109. For foreign language assistance to connect with mental health professionals, call Danuri Portal's helpline at 1577-1366.