In a heartbreaking statistic, an average of 38.8 people took their own lives each day last year, marking the highest suicide rate in South Korea in nearly a decade.
Statistics Korea released a report titled “2023 Causes of Death,” the country’s suicide rate hit 27.3 per 100,000 people, an 8.5% increase from the previous year. This is the highest it’s been since 2014, with 13,978 lives lost to suicide last year alone.
The biggest rise in suicides came from those in their 60s, with a 13.6% increase. Following closely behind were those in their 50s and even teens, with suicide remaining the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 30. Devastatingly, more than half (52.7%) of all deaths among people in their 20s were attributed to suicide.
The government notes that increased economic and social isolation, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, has been a significant factor in this troubling rise. South Korea continues to have one of the highest suicide rates in the world, with an age-standardized rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people—more than double the OECD average.
In total, 352,511 deaths were recorded last year, marking a 5.5% decrease from the previous year, largely attributed to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19-related deaths dropped dramatically, with 7,442 fatalities recorded, a 76.2% decrease from the year before.
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