This file photo shows a special phone installed on Mapo Bridge over Seoul’s Han River, which is a well-known suicide spot. The phone connects a person directly to crisis counseling as part of efforts to prevent suicide. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of people in their 20s who died by suicide in Seoul last year increased sharply, exceeding the proportion of those in their 30s and 40s, data showed Monday.
A total of 2,034 people took their own lives in the capital city last year and those in their 60s accounted for the largest share at 32.2 percent, followed by those in their 50s and 20s at 17.4 percent, according to the data that Rep. Chung Woo-taik of the People Power Party received from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
In light of the year-to-year growth rate, those in their 20s marked the highest growth of 9.3 percent, followed by those in their 60s and older at 8.4 percent.
The age group that saw the largest increase in suicides in the ten years from 2012 to 2021 was those in their 20s.
During this period, suicides among 20-somethings grew by 3.1 percent per year on average, the highest among all age groups.
The number of people in their 20s who died by suicide stood at 323 in 2020, surpassing those in their 40s (302) for the first time and exceeding those in their 30s last year.
By district, Gwanak and Gangseo came on top in terms of the number of people who died by suicide last year (128 each). These districts are regarded as being congested with single-person households.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
