The head of a Catholic church-run mental health group in South Korea says suicide prevention programs have saved many from taking their own lives, as the nation sees a rise in suicide-related deaths. Source: UCA News.
“Many who were contemplating giving up on life find renewed strength through participating in suicide prevention programs,” Fr Kim Soo-gyu, director of Seoul Archdiocese’s One Mind One Body Movement, said.
“The most crucial element in suicide prevention is not systems or statistics, but people. In the midst of despair, the presence of just one person who listens can become hope,” Fr Kim said.
On each day of 2024, nearly 40 people (39.5) committed suicide, pushing the country’s suicide rate to a 13-year high, the Korea Foundation for Respect for Life and Hope and Statistics Korea said in a preliminary report in March.
At least 14,439 people committed suicide in 2024, the highest since 2011, when 15,906 people took their own lives.
By gender, men were more than twice as likely to die by suicide as women, and those in their 50s accounted for 21 per cent of suicide cases, making it the age group most prone to suicide.
Among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations, South Korea has the highest suicide rate.
The Church-run Suicide Prevention Center, located at the One Mind One Body Movement headquarters, carries out various activities promoting respect for life.
The centre has organised initiatives such as the “Respect for Life Campaign,” the “Rosary Prayer Campaign to Convey Comfort,” and the suicide prevention fundraising campaign “Reach Out, Spring, Open Your Heart,” to care for those in need.
The centre also strengthens its suicide prevention efforts through youth awareness initiatives, spirituality-centred education for priests, religious, and laypeople, and training programs for suicide prevention activists.
One of the centre’s notable initiatives is a mobile mental care program, wherein suicide prevention activists, who are also practising artists, meet individuals in crisis and attempt to heal their pain through conversation and creative activities.
The centre also runs pastoral programs for bereaved families of suicide victims.
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Korean Catholics expand outreach to tackle record suicide rates (UCA News)
National FREE 24/7 Crisis Services: • Lifeline 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au • Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au • Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 www.kidshelpline.com.au • MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78 www.mensline.org.au • Beyond Blue Support Service 1300 22 4636
